Seldom-Used Words

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ergodicity • n., In mathematics and physics, the adjective ergodic is used to imply that a system satisfies the ergodic hypothesis of thermodynamics or that it is a system studied in ergodic theory. "...the word ergodic is derived from the Greek words έργον and όδος, work and path. This was chosen by Boltzmann while working on a problem in statistical mechanics."








I stumbled upon the word at Dr. Judith Curry's blog, Climate, Etc. It is clearly a most useful word for describing a very specific characteristic of a dynamic system's responses.

http://judithcurry.com/2011/03/05/chaos-ergodicity-and-attractors/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergodicity






 
pareidolia - the imagined perception of patterns or meanings that do not exist. Example: the man on the moon.
 
I heard this one watching Deadwood the other night;

repast - noun 1. something taken as food:MEAL 2. the act or time of taking food
 
I always wondered about this one;

renig - verb renege

renege - verb DENY, RENOUNCE 1. obs to make a denial 2. to fail to follow suit when able in a card game in violation of the rules 3. to go back on a promise or a commitment
 
I always wondered about this one;

renig - verb renege

renege - verb DENY, RENOUNCE 1. obs to make a denial 2. to fail to follow suit when able in a card game in violation of the rules 3. to go back on a promise or a commitment

Over here, especially No 3.
 
I found an interesting trail here;

renegade - adj TRAITOROUS, APOSTATE

apostate - noun one who commits apostasy

apostasy - noun 1. renunciation of a religious faith 2. DEFECTION
 
Zugzwang? Never heard it used in English.

Zugzwang is a common term, used in the game of chess. It means, 'compulsion to move.' There are situations in chess where it would be better not to move a piece, but the laws of chess require a move, when it's the player's turn.
 
I learned to play chess with my older brother and there were many a times he would have used that word on me, if he had known of it. Thanks, Richard, for the clarification and the laugh at remembering his frustration with me. "Have you moved, YET?" he would exclaim after 15 minutes of impatiently waiting and making me more nervous about my next move. I am the best stalemater, west of the mighty Mississip! Hahahahaha

reive - verb RAID

This must be why the book Reivers got its name.
 
perfervid

ardent: characterized by intense emotion; "ardent love"; "an ardent lover"; "a fervent desire to change society"; "a fervent admirer"; "fiery oratory"; "an impassioned appeal"; "a torrid love affair"​

Oddly enough I encountered this yesterday in regards to the (1870's) debate over the relationship of the Mississippi valley "mound builders" to modern Amerinds. :rolleyes:
 
Zugzwang is a common term, used in the game of chess. It means, 'compulsion to move.' There are situations in chess where it would be better not to move a piece, but the laws of chess require a move, when it's the player's turn.

I did play chess, but never heard the word before. Thanks for the clarification, Richard.

By the way, I had to search for my original comment. It was April of 2010, almost a year ago. :)
 
Thank you, Og, for that wonderful article on Border Reivers. English history is so fascinating to me.

Harold, in mentioning "mound builders" of the Mississippi Valley, I must say that I put one of the last surviving Natchez Indians into my book, a medicine man, and named him Isiwata, which is the Natchez word for panther, his spirit guide. The French eradicated most of the tribe around 1729. The ones who escaped melded into other tribes for safety, but they do still exist and are a proud people.

This one makes senses even though I have never heard it;

regnum - noun pl of regna KINGDOM
 
Zugzwang is a common term, used in the game of chess. It means, 'compulsion to move.' There are situations in chess where it would be better not to move a piece, but the laws of chess require a move, when it's the player's turn.


http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=36089440&postcount=934


I am reminded of a quotation that was once given me by a friend. I don't know who authored it.

Everything's been thought of. The hard part is to remember it.


 
perfervid

ardent: characterized by intense emotion; "ardent love"; "an ardent lover"; "a fervent desire to change society"; "a fervent admirer"; "fiery oratory"; "an impassioned appeal"; "a torrid love affair"​

Oddly enough I encountered this yesterday in regards to the (1870's) debate over the relationship of the Mississippi valley "mound builders" to modern Amerinds. :rolleyes:

Even odder, the West Virginia visitors travel book, put out by the State tourism board was still declaring that the Mounds were built by a race of giants, and that even the Indians acknowledged that they weren't the builders. I haven't looked at the annual book in a few years, so I don't know if they still promulgate this claptrap (there's a pair of words we seldom use nowadays). I can assure you, though, that the West Virginia History site does give the Native Americans their due. By the way, Thomas Jefferson was among the first to make a detailed study of Mounds in Virginia, and compared the artifacts to those of the contemporary Indians (Powhattan and others) and found them identical. He declared that the Amerinds had made the moundds, but few wanted to believe him.
 

vitrine • n., A glass-paneled cabinet or case for displaying articles such as models, china, objects d'art, or fine merchandise.








... In the model room of the New York Yacht Club last night,... Near a glass vitrine filled with America’s Cup vessels rendered in miniature, Jayni Chase, a benefit co-chairman and wife of actor Chevy Chase, told of a recent expedition to the Galapagos with marine biologists...

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a2abjR0DcgEk






 
Near a glass vitrine filled with America’s Cup vessels rendered in miniature


Really? A glass vitrine?

LOL

You can lodge a complaint with:
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net

...To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net


or "The Department of Redundancy Department."

Original story:
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a2abjR0DcgEk

 
Thanks for all the input, gentlemen, I do love company.

refulgence - noun a radiant or resplendent quality or state; BRILLIANCE
 
Regnum

(wiki). The inheritable power to govern (originally as a king) in Ancient Rome (compare imperium)
 
Hi AC.

effulgence : ef·ful·gent
   /ɪˈfʌldʒənt, ɪˈfʊl-/ Show Spelled[ih-fuhl-juhnt, ih-fool-] Show IPA
–adjective
shining forth brilliantly; radiant.
Use effulgence in a Sentence
See images of effulgence
Search effulgence on the Web
Origin:
1730–40; < Latin effulgent- (stem of effulgēns, present participle of effulgēre ), equivalent to ef- ef- + fulg ( ēre ) to shine + -ent- -ent

"I found her conversation as effulgent as her as her personality." :heart:
 
This must be related to reive;

reft - past of reave

reave - verb 1. archaic ROB, DESPOIL 2a. archaic to deprive of b. SEIZE 3. archaic to carry or tear away
 

reify • v., Make (something abstract) more concrete or real ( ex., these instincts are, in humans, reified as verbal constructs ).

reification, n., (also known as hypostatisation, concretism, or the fallacy of misplaced concreteness) is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete, real event, or physical entity.



reified past participle; reifies 3rd person singular present; reifying present participle; reified past tense








Well, you're on the damn res! I've been meaning to look this word up for ages and you jogged my memory.





 
Another reeve for the mix. I had no idea there were so many;

reeve - noun 1. a local administrative agent of an Anglo-Saxon king 2. a medieval English manor officer responsible chiefly for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations 3.a. the council president in some Canadian municipalities b. a local official charged with enforcement of specific regulations, as in a deer reeve
 
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