[thetreacheryofwords]

cosmos / KOZ-mohs / noun

The world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system

History & Origin

Cosmos comes through Middle English in 1150-1200 from the Greek word kósmos “order, form, arrangement, the world or universe.” Popularized in 1848 as a translation of Humboldt’s

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obnubilate

\ob-NOO-buh-leyt\ [verb]

to cloud over; becloud; obscure

History & Origin

Obnubilate (1580s), is the past participle of obnubilare "to cover with clouds or fog," and derives from the Latin nubes "cloud, mist, vapor," from Proto Indo-European *sneudh- "fog" (shared root word of Latin obnubere "to veil," Welsh nudd "fog," Greek nython).

Usage

"The top floors of the building bumped against the bottom of the cloud deck, and were often obnubilated."

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hypnopompic

\hip-nuh-POM-pik\ [adjective]

Of or pertaining to the semiconscious state prior to complete wakefulness

History & Origin

Hypnopompic literally means "sending away sleep" in Greek. It was coined in English in the early 1900s from the roots hypno- meaning "sleep" and pomp meaning "sending away."

Hypnos was the god of sleep in Greek mythology, the son of Night and Darkness, and the half-brother of Death. He was married to Pasithea, the deity of hallucination and relaxation, and fathered Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos, the gods of dreams and nightmares.

Usage

"Man, I've been hypnopompic all day; I just can't seem to wake up completely."

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profligacy

\PROF-li-guh-see\ [noun]

1. Reckless extravagance. 2. Shameless dissoluteness. 3. Great abundance.

History & Origin

Profligacy (1670s) comes from the Latin word prōflīgātus, which meant "destroyed, ruined, corrupt, abandoned, dissolute; broken down in character or degraded," from pro- "down, forth" + fligere "to strike."

Usage

"The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition." - Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

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anhedonia

\an-hee-DOH-nee-uh\ [noun]

Lack of pleasure or of the capacity to experience it.

History & Origin

Anhedonia (1897), comes from the French anhédonie, coined in 1896 by the French psychologist Theodule Ribot (1839-1916) as an opposite to analgesia, from Greek an- + hedone "pleasure."

Usage

"Researchers theorize that anhedonia may result from the breakdown in the brain's reward system, involving the neurotransmitter dopamine."

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Happy Holidays

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Had had

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I wouldn't say these are the TOP five, but they're definitely odd.

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lily-livered

\LIL-ee-LIV-erd\ [noun]

Weak or lacking in courage; cowardly; pusillanimous

History & Origin

Lily-livered (1605) was first used in English by Shakespeare in Macbeth. The liver was supposedly the seat of passion and is typically dark reddish brown. Since a lily is pale and light-colored, a lily-livered person was weak and passionless.

Usage

"Go, prick thy face and over-red thy fear,

Thou lily-livered boy."

-Macbeth Act 5, Scene 3

(Modern text: "Go pinch your cheeks and bring some color back into your face, you cowardly boy.")

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gobbet

\GOB-it\ [noun]

1. a lump or mass

2. a fragment or piece, especially of raw flesh

History & Origin

Gobbet (late 13th century) comes from the Old French word gobet meaning "piece, mouthful," a diminutive of gobe, "mouthful, lump," related to gober "gulp, swallow down," probably from Gaulish *gobbo- (shared root of the Irish gob "mouth," Gaelic gob "beak"). This Celtic source also seems to be the root of gob "mouth" (mid-16th century), which is the first element in gob-stopper "a kind of large hard candy" (1928).

Usage

"The zombie looked up from his meal, gobbets of flesh dangling from his gaping mouth."

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echolalia

\ek-oh-LEY-lee-uh\ [noun]

The imitation by a baby of the vocal sounds produced by others, occurring as a natural phase of childhood development.

History & Origin

Echolalia (1885) originates from two Greek roots: echo derived from the name of the mythic nymph Echo fabled to have pined herself away to nothing but her name, combined with lalia meaning "talk or prattle."

Usage

"A university education can easily become mere echolalia, a simple regurgitation of information, devoid of true comprehension."

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gynarchy

\JIN-er-kee, GAHY-ner-, JAHY-ner-\ [noun]

Government by women or a woman

History & Origin

Gynarchy (1570s) comes from the Greek gyné + -arkhe, literally meaning "woman rule."

Gyné "a woman, a wife," comes from the Proto Indo-European *gwen- "woman, wife" supposedly originally "honored woman."

-arkhe, "rule, beginning" comes from arkhon "ruler," a noun use of the present participle of arkhein, "to rule," from Proto Indo-European *arkhein "to begin, rule, command."

Gynaecocracy and gyneocracy attested from 1610s.

Usage

"With all of the stubborn men currently clogging up our Congress with stupidity and testosterone, maybe it's time in America for a gynarchy."

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splenetic

\spli-NET-ik\ [adjective]

irritable; peevish; spiteful

History & Origin

Splenetic (1540s) comes from Late Latin spleneticus, from Greek splen, from the Proto-Indo-European *splegh-

The spleen was regarded in medieval physiology as the seat of morose feelings and bad temper.

Usage

"Quitting cigarettes made him frequently splenetic, and he could often be found stomping about the office and grumbling."

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filch

\filch\ [noun]

To steal (especially something of small value); pilfer

History & Origin

Filch (1560s) is a slang word of unknown origin. It may be related to the name for a kind of hook that could be used to steal small items from kitchen windows. It may have come from the Middle English word (c. 1300) filchen meaning "to attack (in a body), take as booty." It may also be related to the German word filzen "comb through."

Usage

"Because Argus Filch was a Squib, and had no magic powers of his own, he would occasionally filch small magical objects from the young wizards at Hogwarts."

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howdah

\HOU-duh\ [noun]

A seat or platform for one or more persons, commonly with a railing and a canopy, placed on the back of an elephant.

History & Origin

Howday (1774), comes from Persian and Urdu haudah, and from Arabic haudaj "litter carried by a camel" (or elephant).

Usage

"When he climbed aboard the howdah, the elephant winked at him and pooped."

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philoprogenitive

/fil-oh-proh-JEN-i-tiv/ [adjective]

1. Producing offspring, especially abundantly; prolific

2. Of, pertaining to, or characterized by love for offspring, especially one's own

History & Origin

Philoprogenitive (1815), irregularly formed from Greek philo- + Latin progignere. Philo- is a word-forming element meaning"loving, fond of, tending to," from Greek philo-, a form of philos "dear" (adjective), "friend" (noun), from philein "to love." Progignere is a Latin word meaning "beget," from pro- "forth" + gignere "to produce, beget." Gignere shares a Proto-Indo-European root *gen with the Latin genus "race, stock, kind; family, birth, descent, origin," which gives us many words in English related to reproduction: gene, gender, genealogy, generation, genitals, etc.

Usage

"The old lady who lived in a shoe was philoprogenitive; she had so many children, she didn't know what to do."