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

Seldom Used Words (Cont'd)

I grew up near Hermosa Beach, CA, and most summers a red tide would come ashore. At night the colors of the waves crashing were the best part and here is the word for the little critters that cause it;

noctiluca - noun any of a genus of marine bioluminescent flagellates that often cause phosphorescence of the sea
 
"...then the phosphorous flashed in her seaweed hair;
I looked again, and my mother wasn't there..."

(from The Keeper of the Eddystone Light)

Yes, my dear unwedded, the sea at night is replete with seldom used words for seldom seen things... Thanks for bringing one of my favourites to light...
 
One red tide night, a friend invited me onto his boat and we took a small dingy to get there. Every time I put the oar in the water to paddle, it glowed. I started making circles and the like, until my friend asked me to get back to the business of rowing. I guess I was impeding our progress. LOL I must admit, it is not so much fun to swim in, due to the smelly nature of it all, and the dead fish floating about. Beautiful to look at, though.

noctambulation - noun SOMNAMBULISM
 
AllardChardon said:
I grew up near Hermosa Beach, CA, and most summers a red tide would come ashore. At night the colors of the waves crashing were the best part and here is the word for the little critters that cause it;

noctiluca - noun any of a genus of marine bioluminescent flagellates that often cause phosphorescence of the sea
Click to expand...

Don't forget the noctilucent clouds (astronomy)
 
Handley, that word was not in my dictionary. Thanks for adding it.

nock(1) - noun 1. one of the notches cut in either of two tips of horn fastened on the ends of a bow or in the bow itself for holding the string 2.a. the part of an arrow having a notch for the bowstring b. the notch itself

nock(2) - vt to make a notch in or fit into or by means of a notch
 
AllardChardon said:
Handley, that word was not in my dictionary. Thanks for adding it.

nock(1) - noun 1. one of the notches cut in either of two tips of horn fastened on the ends of a bow or in the bow itself for holding the string 2.a. the part of an arrow having a notch for the bowstring b. the notch itself

nock(2) - vt to make a notch in or fit into or by means of a notch
Click to expand...

nock (3). Fit arrow to bowstring, preparatory to loosing (firing) the arrow.

Dict Historical Slang:

nock (4). The female pudend [= vagina]. Low - late C16 - C18

nock (5). To 'occupy' [Og's note = fuck] a woman C16 - C18

nockandro The posterior, arse, [US = ass] C17

nocky - 'A silly dull fellow' late C17 - early C19

nocturne - A harlot, prostitute - High Society euphemism circa 1875 - 1915 possibly from night-walker.
 
oggbashan said:
nock (3).

Dict Historical Slang:

nock (4). The female pudend [= vagina]. Low - late C16 - C18
Click to expand...

Gives a whole (hole?) new meaning to the act of nocking one's arrow, doesn't it?

And it's probably just a typo, but, for the record, the word is pudendum (pl. pudenda).
 
CarlusMagnus said:
Gives a whole (hole?) new meaning to the act of nocking one's arrow, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

That's why there is definition 5 above...:D

CarlusMagnus said:
And it's probably just a typo, but, for the record, the word is pudendum (pl. pudenda).
Click to expand...

Pudend is not a typo but a shorter form in use in the C19th. The Dictionary of Historical Slang often uses it as an abbreviation because there are so many words in that dictionary for genitalia and intercourse.
 
Og, I love it when you break out your Historical Slang book. In the movie, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, as the inspector investigating the Jack the Ripper murders, one of the prostitutes mentioned that they were no longer called prostitutes in England, but "unfortunates", as per Queen Victoria's wishes. I suppose that was so the Queen could say publically there were no prostitutes in England. Was "nocturne" another one of those polite words for street walkers?

nobby - adj of the first quality or style: SMART
 
AllardChardon said:
Og, I love it when you break out your Historical Slang book. In the movie, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, as the inspector investigating the Jack the Ripper murders, one of the prostitutes mentioned that they were no longer called prostitutes in England, but "unfortunates", as per Queen Victoria's wishes. I suppose that was so the Queen could say publically there were no prostitutes in England. Was "nocturne" another one of those polite words for street walkers?

nobby - adj of the first quality or style: SMART
Click to expand...

"Nocturnes," or "night walkers," as they were known in early modern England, were folks who were out on the streets after dark without any "legitimate" reason. Their numbers included burglars as well as prostitutes. "Night walking" itself was a criminal offense, and people could be arrested for being out after dark.
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Tio, for that lovely explanation of night walkers. If it had been illegal for me and my friends to be out after dark, when we were teens, I would have missed the best part of my life! (Cruising Hollywood and Sunset Blvds in the 60s and attending the best rock and roll shows ever known, usually blazing on Owsley LSD). Ah, those were the days...

nobble - vt 1. Brit: to incapacitate (a racehorse) esp. by drugging 2. slang Brit: a. to win over to one's side b. STEAL c. SWINDLE, CHEAT
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Tio, for that lovely explanation of night walkers. If it had been illegal for me and my friends to be out after dark, when we were teens, I would have missed the best part of my life! (Cruising Hollywood and Sunset Blvds in the 60s and attending the best rock and roll shows ever known, usually blazing on Owsley LSD). Ah, those were the days...
Click to expand...

You have to remember that street lighting was a late C19th innovation, and that Police forces in England were also new then.

The streets of large towns and cities were dangerous places at night.

'Nightwatchmen' were employed in some cities but as they were usually old disabled servicemen they offered little protection for the public. They were more concerned with protecting property.

Night etc. from the Historical Dictionary of Slang:

night and day - a play, Cockney rhyming slang 1859 onwards.

night-cap - a nocturnal bully circa 1620-30.

night-flea - a boarder (as opposed to a day pupil = day bug)

night-fossick - to steal gold quartz at night - Australian mid C19

night-physic or night-work - intercourse C16 - early C18

night-snap - a nocturnal thief C17

A fine night to run away with another man's wife - a fine clear night C16 - C18

nightingale - 1. A soldier, who when being punished, 'sings out' Circa 1770- 1830; 2. a prostitute from 1840

nightshade or deadly nightshade - 'a shameless prostitute of the very lowest class' from circa 1860. [Og's note: deadly because usually severely affected by venereal disease]
 
AllardChardon said:
Og, I love it when you break out your Historical Slang book. In the movie, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, as the inspector investigating the Jack the Ripper murders, one of the prostitutes mentioned that they were no longer called prostitutes in England, but "unfortunates", as per Queen Victoria's wishes. I suppose that was so the Queen could say publicly there were no prostitutes in England.
Click to expand...


Unfortunates:
a person who is considered immoral or lacking in religious faith or instruction, especially a prostitute.

I've never seen or read use of that word as an alternative to prostitute.
Use of the word seems to have faded out after WW2 after appearing in late Victorian times.
 
AllardChardon said:
... In the movie, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp, as the inspector investigating the Jack the Ripper murders, one of the prostitutes mentioned that they were no longer called prostitutes in England, but "unfortunates", as per Queen Victoria's wishes. I suppose that was so the Queen could say publically there were no prostitutes in England...
Click to expand...

Like many movie lines, that statement was economical with the truth.

There were Parliamentary Enquiries into Prostitution in Victorian England; Societies devoted to reclaiming Fallen Women, some of which organisations actually called them prostitutes; and at one point in late Victorian London it was calculated that there was one prostitute for every seven adult men resident in London. :eek:

I suppose some of the prostitutes catered for commuters and tourists. Until recently (last 5 or so years!) prostitutes were a common sight near main line railway terminii in London, particularly Kings Cross and Euston.
 
Og, "A fine night to run away with another man's wife" has got to be my favorite of that grouping, although "deadly nightshade" is a close second. Thanks, as always, for sharing them with us.

Thank you, Handley, and Og, for the information on prostitutes in London. I do take what I see in movies with several grains of salt, because one never knows in movies... unless stated clearly at the beginning or end that they are based on fact.

nob(1) - noun 1. slang: HEAD 2. a jack of the same suit as the starter in cribbage that scores one point for the holder

nob(2) - noun chiefly Brit: one in a superior position in life
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Handley, and Og, for the information on prostitutes in London. I do take what I see in movies with several grains of salt, because one never knows in movies... unless stated clearly at the beginning or end that they are based on fact.

nob(2) - noun chiefly Brit: one in a superior position in life
Click to expand...

Think "Nob Hill".
 
Dictionary of Historical Slang has a lot about 'nob':

nob (1). the head

(2) a blow on the head

(3) In card game cribbage - The knave (Jack) of the same suit as the turned up card, counting 1 to the holder, who says "One for the/His nob".

(4) a person of rank, privilege or wealth, Royal Navy - a lieutenant

(5) fellow (as opposed to undergraduate or graduate) of a college

(6) broomstick

(7) A sovereign coin

(8) The game of Prick (or Cheat) the Garter [Og's note: No idea what this is][Edited - A game that the better must lose ]

(9) The nose

(10) see Knob = Prick/Penis
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Og, for adding those slang words for nob. The information on Prick the Garter (Fast and Loose) is excellent. I never knew about it and I have researched cheating games of the 1800s quite a bit. The shell game and three card Monte come immediately to mind.

nix(1) - noun a water sprite of Germanic folklore usually having the form of a woman or a half human and half fish - called also nixie
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Og, for adding those slang words for nob. The information on Prick the Garter (Fast and Loose) is excellent. I never knew about it and I have researched cheating games of the 1800s quite a bit. The shell game and three card Monte come immediately to mind.

nix(1) - noun a water sprite of Germanic folklore usually having the form of a woman or a half human and half fish - called also nixie
Click to expand...

A nix is normally male; a nixie female:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_(water_spirit)

But in England they were Wyrms - snake like but with the ability to change shape.
 
Fascinating, Og, I truly enjoyed the artwork included. Thanks so much.

Somehow, I misses this one;

nizam - noun 1. one of a line of sovereigns of Hyderabad, India, reigning from 1713 to 1950 2. a Turkish soldier
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Og, for adding those slang words for nob. The information on Prick the Garter (Fast and Loose) is excellent. I never knew about it and I have researched cheating games of the 1800s quite a bit. The shell game and three card Monte come immediately to mind.

nix(1) - noun a water sprite of Germanic folklore usually having the form of a woman or a half human and half fish - called also nixie
Click to expand...

Doesn't it also mean NO ?

[from Jailhouse Rock, Elvis]
 
Yes, Handley, there are four nix entries, one for water sprites, one for nothing or no one, another for NO and the last for veto or forbid. I considered the first one the seldom-used word, and that is why I only posted it.

nisus - noun a conative state or condition: STRIVING
 
oggbashan said:
But in England they were Wyrms - snake like but with the ability to change shape.
Click to expand...

Bram Stoker's Book about a Wyrm:

1165231025.jpg


The Lady IS the Wyrm
 
Last edited:
oggbashan said:
Bram Stoker's Book about a Wyrm:

1165231025.jpg


The Lady IS the Wyrm
Click to expand...


"The word "worm", derived from Old English wyrm, originally referred to a dragon or serpent. "Wyvern" is derived from Old Saxon wivere, also meaning serpent."

I recall something about a wyrm living in a well in Northumberland, but cannot call it to mind; there's a folk-song about it somewhere, I believe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

8letters
8letters' big list of tips
2
Replies
41
Views
3K
Mogrem
Mogrem
THROBBS
ABC Exhausting, though not Exhaustive
Replies
7
Views
6K
dombeotch
D
FGB
What Does It Matter / What God?
Replies
19
Views
3K
Hypoxia
Hypoxia
Tsotha
Poetry, prose, metre, stuff, to keep the other thread clean
6 7 8
Replies
188
Views
6K
twelveoone
T
RedHairedandFriendly
Red's Literotica Dictionary
5 6 7
Replies
159
Views
7K
weespanner
W
Back
Top