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Seldom-Used Words

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Weird Harold said:
Not so obvious as all that; one needs to know what a "monger" is to grasp the meaning readily. :p
Click to expand...

The following are still in common UK usage:

Fishmonger
Ironmonger - hardware storekeeper

Neither have any negative connotations but:

lawmonger is derogatory.

Og
 
Monger, as the second half of a compound word, is very versatile, indeed.

Here is a word I thought I knew the meaning of, but I only knew one;

dither - vt 1. SHIVER, TREMBLE 2. to act nervously or indecisively: VACILLATE

dither - noun a highly nervous, excited, or agitated state: EXCITEMENT, CONFUSION
 
definitely leads to that not-often-enough-used word...

dithyramb noun. 1. a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular strain; 2. a statement or writing in an exalted or enthusiastic vein.
 
AllardChardon said:
That is a good one, Tio.

vituperate - vt to abuse or censure severely or abusively: BERATE
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vituperate /vtjupret, v-/ v. M16. [L vituperat- pa. ppl stem of vituperare, f. vitu- for viti- stem of vitium VICE n.
1 + parare prepare:
1 v.t. Blame, abuse, find fault with, in strong or violent language; vilify, revile.
2 v.i. Employ abusive language.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


vituperative [Late L vituperativus, f. as prec.: see -IVE.]
1 Of words, language, etc.: containing or expressing strong depreciation; violently abusive or censorious.
2 Characterized or accompanied by vituperation.
3 Of a person: given to vituperation; employing or uttering abusive language.

vituperatively adv.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Oxford Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
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ululate • v., An ululation (aka ololuge or ololygmos) is a long, wavering, high-pitched sound resembling the howl of a dog or wolf with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid movement of the tongue and the uvula; past tense- ululated; past participle- ululated; 3rd person singular present- ululates; present participle- ululating.







It's one of my all-time favorite words; onomatopoeia, anyone?

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


 
Handley, vituperative was the word used in the book I am reading, but I decided to use the vituperate because that word was even rarer to mine eyes.

The best part of ululate, Trysail, is speaking it; it really rolls off the tongue.

rake-off - noun the use of a rake by a croupier to collect the operator's profits in a gambling casino: a percentage or cut taken (as by an operator)
 
Ok, word help time. Wikipedia and the dictionary are not helping me here. Maybe someone knows the word. What is the name of the cold stone used to store food on, either in a root cellar or a pantry? It's monosyllabic and I recall it beginning with S. Slate seems not to be the word, but it is close.
 
Xelebes said:
Ok, word help time. Wikipedia and the dictionary are not helping me here. Maybe someone knows the word. What is the name of the cold stone used to store food on, either in a root cellar or a pantry? It's monosyllabic and I recall it beginning with S. Slate seems not to be the word, but it is close.
Click to expand...

If you could afford it, it should be marble.

But Wikipedia suggests that the word you want is Thrawl.
Og
 
in honor of the day:

matriarch == a woman who rules or dominates a family, group, or state; specifically : a mother who is head and ruler of her family and descendants.
 
oggbashan said:
If you could afford it, it should be marble.

But Wikipedia suggests that the word you want is Thrawl.
Og
Click to expand...

That's the word I'm looking for. Thank you. And now I remember why it stuck in my head. It's a homophone (at least here it is) of thrall: a runner of errands, a person slightly above slave.
 
Thanks for the information on larders, things I never knew before.

perfidy - noun the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal: TREACHERY
 
This one makes sense, if one knows a little French;

bonhomie also bonhommie - noun good-natured easy friendliness: GENIALITY
 
AllardChardon said:
Thanks for the information on larders, things I never knew before.

perfidy - noun the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal: TREACHERY
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Ah, yes. Perfidious Albion.


Albion • n., A poetic or literary term for Britain or England (often used in referring to ancient or historical times); Albion (Ἀλβιών) is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. It is thought to derive from the white cliffs of Dover. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular...





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

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


E.T.A., nothing personal, Og or Handley or cold_diesel or any of the many delightful residents of the "Sceptred Isle."

 
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Thank you, Trysail, for that excellent information. Never before have I heard that term in reference to England. It is a good one.

This next word was used by Twain to describe a man he disliked, so I will only include the proper definition for this case and not the full extent of definitions listed;

cipher - noun 1.b. an insignificant individual: NONENTITY
 
Thank you, Patrick, for your enlightening contribution to Albion.

vitriol - noun 1.a. a sulfate of any of various metals (as copper, iron, or zinc); esp. a glassy hydrate of such a sulfate b. OIL OF VITRIOL 2. something felt to resemble vitriol esp. in caustic quality; esp. virulence of feeling or of speech
 
Twain was never at a loss for descriptive words and I do love this one;

mesmerize - vt 1. to subject to mesmerism 2. SPELLBIND, FASCINATE
 
Twain was never at a loss for words and I do love this one;

mesmerize - vt 1. to subject to mesmerism 2. SPELLBIND, FASCINATE

I just posted this, I thought, so... if a double post appears, it is not my fault this morning.
 
AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Patrick, for your enlightening contribution to Albion.

vitriol - noun 1.a. a sulfate of any of various metals (as copper, iron, or zinc); esp. a glassy hydrate of such a sulfate b. OIL OF VITRIOL 2. something felt to resemble vitriol esp. in caustic quality; esp. virulence of feeling or of speech
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Vitriol was also used to intimidate and injure people. Vitriol burns skin very quickly leaving permanent scarring. It has been used as an attack on women's faces as recently as 2010.

This form of Vitriol is highly concentrated Sulphuric Acid formerly known as Oil of Vitriol.

Don't look at This unless you have a strong stomach. The picture shows the rebuilt victim's face 18 months AFTER the attack.

Og
 
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AllardChardon said:
Thank you, Patrick, for your enlightening contribution to Albion.

vitriol - noun 1.a. a sulfate of any of various metals (as copper, iron, or zinc); esp. a glassy hydrate of such a sulfate b. OIL OF VITRIOL 2. something felt to resemble vitriol esp. in caustic quality; esp. virulence of feeling or of speech
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Further to Oggs Sulphuric Acid, a very critical and vituperative declamation or speech might be described as "vitriolic" which is where one often finds this word.

Mesmerise comes from Felix Mesmer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesmer ) which is (or was) another name for Hypnosis.
 
Thank you, Og, for the explanation of Oil of Vitriol, it made me wonder. I did not look at the picture because I am feeling a little nauseous today from drinking tequila Manhattans last night. LOL

Vitriolic was the word used by Twain, Handley, but I opted for the root word. Thanks for the information on Mesmer.

inveigle - vt 1. to win over by flattery: ENTICE 2. to acquire by ingenuity or flattery
 
That was Franz Anton Mesmer, by the way. His eighteenth-century fore-runner of hypnotism was known as animal magnetism. It made him rich, reviled in Vienna which he fled after a scandal involving a failed cure for blindness, revered and greatly doubted in pre-revolutionary Paris - finally he died in obscurity. The world was not mesmerized.
 

chelengk • n., A chelengk (çelenk) is a decoration of the Ottoman empire. It was a turban ornament consisting of a central flower with leaves and buds, and thirteen upward-facing rays.






...yet another word from my re-reading of David Walder's 1978 biography of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson:
...The most notable gift from the 'Grand Signior' was the chelengk, the diamond-studded representation of a plume of triumph...
Click to expand...

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




300px-HoratioNelson1.jpg

Nelson, by Lemuel Francis Abbott, with his
chelengk in his admiral's hat

​
 
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