Seldom-Used Words

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I wholeheartedly agree with you, Handley. The opposite of pleonasm is laconism, but I prefer the adjective, laconic. It is from the Spartan reputation for tersness of speech or the sparing of words.

laconism - noun brevity or tersenss of expression or style
 
Good day, everyone. The pleo section is rather interesting for a newcomer;

pleomorphism - noun 1. the occurrence of more than one distinct form in the life cycle of a plant 2. POLYMORPHISM
 
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Handley. The opposite of pleonasm is laconism, but I prefer the adjective, laconic. It is from the Spartan reputation for tersness of speech or the sparing of words.

laconism - noun brevity or tersenss of expression or style

Strange, that. I've always associated 'laconic' with a slightly humorous style; not rudeness or insulting, but a style that may often be taken in more than one way.
 
Handley, I know of no other definition for laconic, but I also like the word sardonic. My late husband and I, both very wordy people, tried being laconic for a period of time and it was much harder than we expected.

sardonic - adj BITTER, MOCKING
 
Handley, I know of no other definition for laconic, but I also like the word sardonic. My late husband and I, both very wordy people, tried being laconic for a period of time and it was much harder than we expected.

sardonic - adj BITTER, MOCKING


sardonic adjective dry, wry, derisory, scornful, mocking, cynical, sneering, jeering, scoffing, contemptuous, ironic, sarcastic, caustic, trenchant, acerbic, mordant, bitter, spiteful

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
.
 
Strange, that. I've always associated 'laconic' with a slightly humorous style; not rudeness or insulting, but a style that may often be taken in more than one way.

Agreed.

For me, it's the association with another word I often mis-define in the same way:

lackadaisical - adj: Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid.

>from the root lackaday: an exclaimation of regret.
 
That is very interesting, PayDay, so I did a little more research:

From: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | T. F. HOAD |

alack - archaic exclamation of dissatisfaction, (hence) of surprise or regret. Probably combined words, AH + LACK, similar to ALAS.
Hence alack-a-day; LACKADAISICAL.
 
From: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | T. F. HOAD |

alack - archaic exclamation of dissatisfaction, (hence) of surprise or regret. Probably combined words, AH + LACK, similar to ALAS.
Hence alack-a-day; LACKADAISICAL.

Excellent :)
 
Good day, everyone. Here is an interesting pairing;

plenitude or plentitude - noun 1. the quality or state of being full: COMPLETENESS 2. a great sufficiency: ABUNDANCE

plenitudinous - adj 1. characaterized by plenitude 2. PORTLY, STOUT
 
Let's not overlook...

plenum n. 1 a. A space or all space every part of which is full of matter b (1) a condition in which the pressureof air in an enclosed space is greater than that of the atmospheric pressure (2) and enclosed space in which such a condition exists 2. a general assembly of all members esp. of a legislative body 3. the quality or state of being full.

Meaning 3 might be very useful in erotic writing.

Meaning (2) applies to the chamber of hot air over the furnace in a forced-air heating system, and is, in fact, called the plenum; add meaning 2, and you realize that a full assembly of the members of a legislative body (Congress, the House of Commons, for examples) would be most definitely a chamber full of hot air.
 


etiolate v., 1. to bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight,
2. (a) to make pale, (b) to deprive of natural vigor, make feeble.


Etymology: French étioler First Known Use: 1791






I don't suppose you'd be amazed if I said I ran across the word in Andrew Graham-Dixon's Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane.


 
Good one, Trysail. How would you use it, though?

Yes, Tio, you caught me red-handed, avoiding plenum because its definition was too long for me to include at the time. Thanks for adding it for me. Do you want to be my official assistant? hehe

plenish - vt chiefly British: EQUIP, FURNISH
 
Good one, Trysail. How would you use it, though?

...To say this is to deny neither Caravaggio's virtuosity nor his power of invention. The way in which he made them thoroughly pictorial— above all through his use of light and shade— was so original that it gave painters nothing less than a whole new grammar and vocabulary. The very idea of looking back, past the etiolated late Mannerism of his day, past the art of the High Renaissance, to vivid and robust traditions of popular religious sculpture— that too was a profoundly original move...
-Andrew Graham-Dixon
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane
New York, N.Y. 2011.​


 
Thank you, Trysail, an excellent usage.

I remember this one from the HBO series, John Adams;

plenipotentiary - noun a person and especially a diplomatic agent invested with full power to transact any business
 
Of course I'll accept a position as your assistant, Dearest Unspouse...

Here's a writerly entry for the 'pl's:

pleonasm n. 1. The use of more words than necessary to denote mere sense (as in the man he said) : REDUNDANCY 2.an instance or example of pleonasm.
 
Tio, I already posted pleonasm and its opposite laconism earlier, but I don't mind. As an assistant, you need to check entries before posting, using the search this thread feature, to be accurate. But even if you don't have the time to check beforehand, this thread can handle redundancy with ease.

plenary inspiration - noun inspiration in all subjects dealth with
 
Tio, double posting happens on this thread, due to its length and the backassward way in which I am approaching the alphabet, so no worries, darling.

plenary indulgence - noun a remission of the entire temporal punishment due to sin
 
When I was in high school, the Christian Brothers had us solicit donations for their teaching order; a gift of one hundred dollars reserved a plenary indulgence for the day of the donor's death. They did assure us we weren't "selling indulgences," though.

Here's one of my common words, but not widely used by others...

pleiotropic producing more than one genic effect, specif having multiple phenotypic expression..
 
Truly, Tio, I have never seen, heard or read that word before, but that does not mean much. I have found lots of words in this thread that are unfamiliar to me and, therefore, the reason I continue to post.

plenary - adj 1. COMPLETE, FULL 2. fully attended or constituted by all entitled to be present (a ~ session)
 
When I was in high school, the Christian Brothers had us solicit donations for their teaching order; a gift of one hundred dollars reserved a plenary indulgence for the day of the donor's death. They did assure us we weren't "selling indulgences," though.

Here's one of my common words, but not widely used by others...

pleiotropic producing more than one genic effect, specif having multiple phenotypic expression..

I just had to look up phenotype:

phenotype /fin()tp/ n. E20. [G Phenotypus, f. as PHENO-: see TYPE n.]
Biol. An organism distinguishable from others by observable features; the sum of the attributes of an individual, regarded as resulting from the interaction of its genotype with its environment.phenotypic /-tp-/,
phenotypical /-tp-/ adjs. of or pertaining to the observable features of, or differences between, organisms (often used with the implication 'not genotypic') E20. phenotypically /-tp-/ adv. E20. phenotyping n. allocation to a phenotype.


---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
Thank you, Edward, for taking us back into the past.

And Thank you, Handley, for explaining phenotype.

One of my favorite periods for paintings;

plein air - adj (French - open air) 1. of or relating to painting in outdoor daylight 2. of or relarting to a mid-19th century French art movement attempting to represent outdoor light and air
 
And here is one of my favorite constellations;

Pleiades - noun plural 1. the seven daughters of Atlas transformed according to Greek mythology into a group of stars 2. a conspicuous loose cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus consisting of six stars visible to the average eye
 
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