COVID-19 RESOURCES
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

Seldom-Used Words

Status
Not open for further replies.
Yes, Harold, the French do have a way with words.

One final word from the book about Mark Twain's secretary in his latter years;

exhort - vt to incite by argument or advice ~ vi to give warnings or advice
 
Good one, Quinn! How about this one;

dynamo - noun (short for dynamoelectric machine) 1. GENERATOR 2. a forceful, energetic person
 
Thank you so much, Og, for the story of the miracle of the little ships, a truly wonderful tale.

I will start at the end of the Rs today;

rye(2) - noun a gypsy gentleman
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you so much, Og, for the story of the miracle of the little ships, a truly wonderful tale.

I will start at the end of the Rs today;

rye(2) - noun a gypsy gentleman
Click to expand...

The Romany Rye a novel by George Borrow has been considered by gypsies to be one of the best representations of their lifestyle at the time.
 
Og, you are wonder to me! Both of those books will be mentioned in my second novel, thanks to you and your incredible knowledge of history, literary and otherwise.

ruttish - adj inclined to rut: LUSTFUL
 
Here is one I have never encountered;

ruth - noun 1. compassion for the misery of another 2. sorrow for one's own faults: REMORSE

Although, I am aware of ruthless, of course.
 
AllardChardon said:
Here is one I have never encountered;

ruth - noun 1. compassion for the misery of another 2. sorrow for one's own faults: REMORSE

Although, I am aware of ruthless, of course.
Click to expand...

I've only seen it in Ken Folletts books.
 
Quinn71 said:
I've only seen it in Ken Folletts books.
Click to expand...

I've seen it as the name of one of the Amazons in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazon books. One of the Swallows was called Titty. Would he get away with that now?

The more usual occurence is as part of ruthless.
 
No, I don't think Titty would work so well these days, Og, for some reason.

rusk - noun 1. hard crisp bread originally used as ship's stores 2. a sweet or plain bread baked, sliced, and baked again until dry and crisp
 
Joklahlaup or Jökulhlaup - A burst of water from a glacier, sometimes capable of making a flood. Most commonly found around volcanic activity.
 
This word is one of my favorites and is used in my firsT novel in connection with a sting operation during a card game.

ruse - noun STRATAGEM, SUBTERFUGE
 
AllardChardon said:
Here is one I have never encountered;

ruth - noun 1. compassion for the misery of another 2. sorrow for one's own faults: REMORSE

Although, I am aware of ruthless, of course.
Click to expand...



I'll be damned. I have never seen that word either though I take some solace from the fact that The Concise Oxford Dictionary (10th edition) labels it "archaic." The citation from the "Concise" is below. Very good find, Allard!!



ruth • n. archaic, a feeling of pity, distress or grief.
-ORIGIN ME: from RUE, prob influenced by ON hrygth.






Scrabble™ players take note!


 
Last edited:
Trysail, I was wondering if it related to the biblical Ruth. I will look that up now and get back to you in a minute.

It says ruth comes from ruen, but the name Ruth means "friend" in Hebrew, so it makes me wonder.

rue - verb to feel penitence, remorse, or regret for

That is not really compassionate in my thinking.
 
AllardChardon said:
Trysail, I was wondering if it related to the biblical Ruth. I will look that up now and get back to you in a minute.

It says ruth comes from ruen, but the name Ruth means "friend" in Hebrew, so it makes me wonder.

rue - verb to feel penitence, remorse, or regret for

That is not really compassionate in my thinking.
Click to expand...

Hebrew is a Semitic language, while English and German are Indo-European. There is very little, if any cognates that are shared between the languages.
 
Thanks for the language lesson, Xelebes.

Does anyone know this one:

rurban - adj of, relating to, or constituting an area which is chiefly residential but where some farming is carried on
 
AllardChardon said:
Here is one I have never encountered;

ruth - noun 1. compassion for the misery of another 2. sorrow for one's own faults: REMORSE

Although, I am aware of ruthless, of course.
Click to expand...

I always wondered about "ruth". I figured if there wasn't such a word, there should be.
Then I looked it up :

ruth /ruth/ n.1 arch. ME. [f. RUE v., prob. after ON hrygd: see -TH1. Cf. WROATH.]
1 Compassion, pity; the feeling of sorrow for another. ME.
2 Contrition, repentance; remorse. Now rare. ME.
3 Sorrow, grief, distress. Formerly also, an instance or expression of this. ME.
4 a A cause of or reason for sorrow or regret. ME-E17.
b Mischief; calamity; ruin.

ruthful a. ( a ) compassionate, pitying;
( b ) that engenders compassion or pity, pitiable;
( c ) (esp. of a sound, action, etc.) expressing grief or sorrow;
( d ) (of a person or emotion) sad, dejected: ME.
ruthfully adv. (now rare) ( a ) in a pitiable way, piteously, dolefully;
( b ) compassionately: ME.
ruthfulness n. (rare)
( a ) sorrow, grief;
( b ) compassion: L16.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
.
 
Last edited:
AllardChardon said:
Thanks for the language lesson, Xelebes.

Does anyone know this one:

rurban - adj of, relating to, or constituting an area which is chiefly residential but where some farming is carried on
Click to expand...

It's a very good example of a portmanteau word.


 
A dear friend told me about this word and I had to post it;

merkin - noun (first use 1617) is a pubic wig. Merkins were originally worn by prostitutes after shaving their genitalia, and are nowadays used as decorative items or in film making. The Oxford Companion to the Body dates the origin of the pubic wig to 1450. Women would shave their pubic hair and wear a merkin to combat pubic lice, and prostitutes would wear them to cover up signs of disease, such as syphilis.
 
Good morning, everyone. Here is today's entry;

rupicolous or rupicoline - noun living among, inhabiting, or growing on rocks
 
Two for the price of one;

rundle - noun 1. a step of a ladder: RUNG 2. the drum of a windlass or capstan

rundlet or runlet - noun 1. a small barrel: KEG 2. an old unit of liquid capacity equal to 18 US gallons
 
This one caught my interest;

runcible spoon - noun a sharp-edged fork with three broad curved prongs
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

THROBBS
ABC Exhausting, though not Exhaustive
Replies
7
Views
6K
dombeotch
D
amicus
AllardChardon & SeverusMax (Writerly)
Replies
13
Views
435
D_K_Moon
D_K_Moon
B
The Lie
Replies
12
Views
530
Rosebud
Rosebud
krastner
Criminalize Alchol ans Legalize POT
Replies
10
Views
327
krastner
krastner
fgarvb1
2257 Regulations
Replies
3
Views
580
Brinnie
Brinnie
Back
Top