Seldom-Used Words

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roborative

From Latin rōbŏro — to strengthen, to invigorate.
Adjective

roborative (comparative more roborative, superlative most roborative)

giving strength; invigorating.

a roborative beverage

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Found in the novel Greebeard amongst many "piratisms" so I wasn't sure if it wasn't a made-up word-- turns out it is not. :p
 
Harold, it is an excellent word, thanks so much for posting it here;

ordonnance - noun 1. disposition of the parts of a composition with regard to one another and the whole; ARRANGEMENT 2. DECREE, ORDER
 
In keeping with the last entry and in an attempt to avoid confusion, I am listing both of the other two (nearly) homonyms;

ordnance - noun 1.a. military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and the necessary maintenance tools and equipment b. a service of the army charged with the procuring, distributing, and safekeeping of ordnance 2. CANNON, ARTILLERY

ordinance - noun 1.a. an authoritative decree or direction: ORDER b. a law set forth by government authority; specif: a municipal regulation 2. something ordained or decreed by fate or a deity 3. a prescribed usage, practice or ceremony
 
In keeping with the last entry and in an attempt to avoid confusion, I am listing both of the other two (nearly) homonyms;

ordnance - noun 1.a. military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and the necessary maintenance tools and equipment b. a service of the army charged with the procuring, distributing, and safekeeping of ordnance 2. CANNON, ARTILLERY

ordinance - noun 1.a. an authoritative decree or direction: ORDER b. a law set forth by government authority; specif: a municipal regulation 2. something ordained or decreed by fate or a deity 3. a prescribed usage, practice or ceremony

I'm most glad you did. I've been avoiding these words.
 
Tio, that was a lovely usage of both my entries, thanks for dropping in to post it.

Handley, I know I could tell the difference in writing, but in speech, I am not so sure.

Here is one that got lost in the shuffle;

ordo - noun a lost of offices and feasts of the Roman Catholic Church for each day of the year
 
Welcome, StrangeLife.

I decided to post this one due to its definition;

ordeal - noun 1. a primitive means used to determine guilt or innocence by submitting the accused to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under supernatural control (~ by fire) 2. a severe trial or experience
 
Here is an interesting word;

orc - noun GRAMPUS: a sea animal similar to the grampus; also: a sea monster
 
Yes, Carlus, that is exactly my thinking. J.R.R. must have liked the sound of it and decided to expand its definition slightly.

grampus - noun 1. a cetacean related to the blackfish; broadly: any of various small cetaceans or killer whale 2. the giant whip scorpion of the southern U.S.
 
I am going to post two O words today;

oratorio - noun a choral work on a usually scriptural subject consisting chiefly of recitatives, arias , and choruses without action or scenery

Oratorian - noun a member of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri originating in Rome in 1564 and comprising independent communities of secular priests under obedience but without vows
 
I am going to post two O words today;

oratorio - noun a choral work on a usually scriptural subject consisting chiefly of recitatives, arias , and choruses without action or scenery

Oratorian - noun a member of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri originating in Rome in 1564 and comprising independent communities of secular priests under obedience but without vows

Philipi Neri seems to have been an interesting bloke: See here.
 
Thank you so much, Handley, for posting that link on St. Philip Neri, what a wonderful spiritual leader and a Saint that I will pray to, especially when a good joke is needed to lighten this life we lead.

I never realized this word had such a negative connotation;

orate - vi to speak in a declamatory or grandiloquent manner: HARANGUE
 
Thank you so much, Handley, for posting that link on St. Philip Neri, what a wonderful spiritual leader and a Saint that I will pray to, especially when a good joke is needed to lighten this life we lead.

I never realized this word had such a negative connotation;

orate - vi to speak in a declamatory or grandiloquent manner: HARANGUE

When at school I studied oratory and rhetoric. The two subjects were about expressing yourself clearly in public speaking, and being persuasive about a subject, as in a debate.

But my parents' generation version of oratory was very different. Their text books gave set speeches for oration, together with standard physical gestures to accompany parts of the speech i.e. if mentioning heaven - point upwards with your right hand, forefinger extended. To my generation they were ridiculous, but early silent movies of UK politicians addressing public meetings showed they had all studied the same syllabus for 'oration' and they did 'orate' in the negative sense.

Victorian ministers and preachers also used what to us would seem overflorid and overblown sermons, laden with the recommended pious gestures to emphasise particular words or phrases. Because those gestures were standardarised, three things followed:

1. They were easily understood, like a communal sign language, and

2. Because everyone used the same ones to the same cues, the audience/congregation could do them too, and

3. They became ridiculous and were used by comedians.
 
Thanks for the good laugh at the end of your post Og. I always appreciate a hearty chuckle. The Speech class I took in High School taught us how to debate, but I had already learned that at HOME! LOL The formal rules were new, though. Rebuttal and all that.

orangery - noun a greenhouse or other protected place for raising oranges in cool climates
 
Here are a couple of interesting O words;

Orange - adj [William III +1702 king of England and prince of Orange] of, relating to, or sympathizing with Orangemen

Orangeman - noun 1. a member of a secret society organized in the north of Ireland in 1795 to defend the British sovereign and to support the Protestant religion 2. a Protestant Irishman esp. of Ulster
 
Here are a couple of interesting O words;

Orange - adj [William III +1702 king of England and prince of Orange] of, relating to, or sympathizing with Orangemen

Orangeman - noun 1. a member of a secret society organized in the north of Ireland in 1795 to defend the British sovereign and to support the Protestant religion 2. a Protestant Irishman esp. of Ulster

These words have modern usage.

The traditional parades of the Orangemen (or Protestant) in Northern Ireland tend to cause trouble every year, as they have this year. They want to go down their traditional routes which lead them close to Republican (or Catholic) areas of Belfast and other towns.

That leads to counter-demonstrations and the confrontations sometimes turn violent with the Police being assaulted by both factions.

The Republicans have their own parades, which are confronted by the Orangemen.

The history of Ireland and Ulster and the Orangemen is still causing problems in the 21st Century.

To translate it to US terms, imagine a Klu Klux Klan parade through black areas and a Black Power parade through a white supremacists enclave.
 
These words have modern usage.

That leads to counter-demonstrations and the confrontations sometimes turn violent with the Police being assaulted by both factions.

The history of Ireland and Ulster and the Orangemen is still causing problems in the 21st Century.

To translate it to US terms, imagine a Klu Klux Klan parade through black areas and a Black Power parade through a white supremacists enclave.

An excellent analogy, Ogg.
Talk about "Entrenched views!. . .
 
Perfectly put, Og, and I wondered if the Orangemen were still in existence, without knowing how very troublesome they are. When I was in Tennessee, also known as the "buckle" of the Bible Belt, it was clear that our warring factions still exist, especially within the aged white supremacists, who are still trying to keep the black man down. Religiously-based beliefs are certainly the most resistant to change.

oracular - adj 1. of, relating to, or being an oracle 2. resembling an oracle in wisdom, solemnity, or obscurity
 
I got to use 'labret' in a story recently. It's such a nice place to touch on a woman, that I'm surprised it isn't better known.
 
HandsInTheDark, your word has me confused.

In my dictionary;

labret - noun an ornament worn in a perforation of the lip by some primitive peoples

What exactly did you touch, the ornament or the lip? If it was the lip, was it upper or lower? I guess this is the reason I prefer a definition with the word. I have an active imagination, you see.
 
HandsInTheDark, your word has me confused.

In my dictionary;

labret - noun an ornament worn in a perforation of the lip by some primitive peoples

What exactly did you touch, the ornament or the lip? If it was the lip, was it upper or lower? I guess this is the reason I prefer a definition with the word. I have an active imagination, you see.

Hm. I wonder if I misused it. I believe it's the region between chin and lower lip...
 
Hm. I wonder if I misused it. I believe it's the region between chin and lower lip...

The closest thing I can come up with, to match what you describe, is the mentum - and even then, it's anatomically incorrect, as the mentum is the tip of the chin. Another poster was right about the labret being a piercing - labrum/labium is Latin for lip.

Geek over and out.
 
HandsInTheDark, I saw only one definition online to support yours, while all the rest are the same as my dictionary. At least, you can say you learned something from posting to this thread. I suppose labret could have taken on a newer meaning that just has not made it into the dictionaries yet. At any rate, a good name for that area would be nice.

opuscule - noun a small or petty work: OPUSCULUM
 
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