Seldom-Used Words

Status
Not open for further replies.

supernumerary • adj., 1. Present in excess of the normal or requisite number, in particular
2. (of a person) Not belonging to a regular staff but engaged for extra work
3. Not wanted or needed; redundant
4. Denoting a structure or organ occurring in addition to the normal ones
5. (of an actor) Appearing on stage but not speaking




I occasionally run into the word in nautical usages. As befits its several definitions, it works nicely in several areas.


 
Well, Trysail, I never knew that one had so many different definitions.

sempiternity - noun the totality of time without beginning or end
 
The Devil's Dictionary

I have just acquired a copy of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary.

Many of the definitions are too long to post, but some aren't:

Ethnology, n, The science that treats of the various tribes of man, as robbers, thieves, swindlers, dunces, lunatics, idiots and ethnologists.

Eulogy, n, Praise of a person who has either the advantages of wealth and power, or the consideration to be dead.

Gout, n, A physician's name for the rheumatism of a rich patient.

Impiety, n, Your irreverence toward my deity.

Indiscretion, n, The guilt of women.

Irreligion, n, The principal one of the great faiths of the world.

Omen, n, A sign that something will happen if nothing happens.

Plan, v.t., To bother about the best method of accomplishing an accidental result.

Witch, n, 1. An ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil; 2. A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.
 
What a great name for a book, Og, and what a find!

semaphore - verb to communicate by means of such devices as lights or signs
 
...

semaphore - verb to communicate by means of such devices as lights or signs

As a Boy Scout, I was taught semaphore and morse code.

Many years later, one of my staff had a double radical mastectomy in a hospital that specialised in Breast Cancer. After the operation she was told to use her arms as much as possible to stop scarring impeding her movement. She was sharing a ward with five other women, all of whom had mastectomies.

She had been a Girl Guide. When visiting her, I suggested that she try semaphore as an exercise. She agreed. On my next visit I brought eight small flags and several photocopied sheets of the semaphore codes and protocols.

She reminded herself of the semaphore she had forgotten and taught the other women in her ward. Within a couple of days they were all using semaphore to tell each other jokes, to comment on the attractiveness (or otherwise) of the male hospital staff, and just to chat. I had to provide more flags.

Semaphore remained a feature of the hospital for several years after her departure as successive patients taught each new patient.

Og
 
What a wonderful story, Og, truly heart-warming.

I would say those ladies were;

sedulous - adj characterized by steady attention and effort
 
What a great name for a book, Og, and what a find!

semaphore - verb to communicate by means of such devices as lights or signs

Sorry, but I'm not sure its a verb.
Communication between stations may be by Semaphore.
"The signals were transmitted by semaphore"

The signaller, does not "semaphore his respondent" any more than he may "Morse his contact".
 
As a Boy Scout, I was taught semaphore and morse code.

Many years later, one of my staff had a double radical mastectomy in a hospital that specialised in Breast Cancer. After the operation she was told to use her arms as much as possible to stop scarring impeding her movement. She was sharing a ward with five other women, all of whom had mastectomies.

She had been a Girl Guide. When visiting her, I suggested that she try semaphore as an exercise. She agreed. On my next visit I brought eight small flags and several photocopied sheets of the semaphore codes and protocols.

She reminded herself of the semaphore she had forgotten and taught the other women in her ward. Within a couple of days they were all using semaphore to tell each other jokes, to comment on the attractiveness (or otherwise) of the male hospital staff, and just to chat. I had to provide more flags.

Semaphore remained a feature of the hospital for several years after her departure as successive patients taught each new patient.

Og

That's a great story, Og!

Ambrose Bierce was admired, befriended, championed and memorialized by Mencken and The Devil's Dictionary was one of the inspirations for Mencken's epigrams. One of the memorable definitions given by Bierce is:


Alone • adj. In bad company.


-Ambrose Bierce
The Devil's Dictionary
N.Y., N.Y. 1983.


That formed the basis for the title of Roy Morris, Jr.'s highly readable 1995 biography: Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company.




Conservative, • n. A statesman enamored of existing evils, as opposed to a Liberal, who wants to replace them with others.

-Ambrose Bierce
The Devil's Dictionary
N.Y., N.Y. 1983.


One day many years ago— I was a freshman in college at the time— I was prowling through the open stacks of the Los Angeles Public Library when I came by chance on the massive Collected Works. Bierce's name meant nothing to me then except that I had seen some references to his writing in Mencken's Smart Set.

-Carey McWilliams
( Editor, The Nation )
Introduction
The Devil's Dictionary
N.Y., N.Y. 1983


Once I enjoyed the curious experience of going to a funeral with him [ Bierce ]. His conversation to and from the crematory was superb— a long series of gruesome but highly amusing witticisms. He had tales of crematories that had caught fire and singed the mourners, of dead bibuli whose mortal remains had exploded, of widows guarding the fires all night to make sure that their dead husbands did not escape.

-H. L. Mencken
Prejudices: Sixth Series
N.Y., N.Y. 1927
 
Last edited:
Sorry, but I'm not sure its a verb.
Communication between stations may be by Semaphore.
"The signals were transmitted by semaphore"

The signaller, does not "semaphore his respondent" any more than he may "Morse his contact".

Google's define function disagrees:

Definitions of semaphore on the Web:

  1. send signals by or as if by semaphore
  2. convey by semaphore, of information
  3. an apparatus for visual signaling with lights or mechanically moving arms
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

You are correct that "Morse" is not verbified, but semaphore is -- although seldom used as a verb in my experience.
 
I love the interaction, but did not know the meaning of this word, bibuli;

It is an Italian adjective.

bibulo m. (f. bibula, m plural bibuli, f plural bibule)

1. absorbent
2. bibulous (fond of drinking)

No wonder they exploded!
 
Prolixity - from Latin prolixus; refers to speech or writing that uses an excess of words.

Reminds me of the excess words in this thread, not that I would accuse anyone of being overly verbose.
 
This one is entertaining;

scuttlebutt - noun slang idle, often sensational and groundless talk about others
 
This one is entertaining;

scuttlebutt - noun slang idle, often sensational and groundless talk about others
Wikipedia said:
Scuttlebutt in slang usage means rumor or gossip, deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).

The term corresponds to the iconic colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, which at times becomes the focus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: A butt (cask) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became Navy slang for gossip or rumours.

I'm no sure where your source got the "groundless" aspect of the definition, but "scuttlebut" is pretty much what we indulge in here in the forums -- share information, gossip, and spread/refute rumors.
 
This one is entertaining;

scuttlebutt - noun slang idle, often sensational and groundless talk about others


anchor.gif

I always liked the sound of this one;

scuttlebutt - noun slang - idle often sensational and groundless talk about others

• A butt was a barrel. Scuttle meant to chop a hole in something. The scuttlebutt was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and dip out drinking water. The scuttlebutt was the place where the ship's gossip was exchanged.


http://bluejacket.com/sea-service_tradition.htm#S

• Originally a cask of fresh water for drinking purposes used by the crew. Now any drinking fountain. Also, any shipboard rumor or gossip. "Taking a long slow drink, the sailor announced to anyone who would listen, 'We're headed for Hong Kong. I heard it from the mess cook.'" Scuttlebutt passes through the ship rapidly, embellished and gaining in creditability as it spreads.




anchor.gif


 
I thought I might have posted that one twice. Thanks for keeping me honest and giving me the interesting history of scuttlebutt, gents. I will try not to post it again, LOL.

This one escapes me;

screak also screek - noun a long, loud, piercing cry or sound
 
I thought I might have posted that one twice. Thanks for keeping me honest and giving me the interesting history of scuttlebutt, gents. I will try not to post it again, LOL.

This one escapes me;

screak also screek - noun a long, loud, piercing cry or sound

Also the sound of chalk on a blackboard.

Og
 
The sound of chalk on a chalkboard does take me back a few years.

If I posted this one before, I do no recall it, but then I do have a memory like a sieve.

scilicet - adverb that is to say
 
This one escapes me;

screak also screek - noun a long, loud, piercing cry or sound

Origin of SCREAK
of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skrækja to screech
First Known Use: circa 1500

At first glance, it looks like a kids attempt at deciding between squeal and creak but it is apparently a very old word with connotations of a combination of a squeal and a creak. :p

The secondary spelling is seen by google as a misspelling of either S. Creek or screech.
 
This one sounds like the opposite of what it means, as is the case, sometimes;

scattergood - noun a person who spends money or resources wastefully
 
Cobbler - A repairer of boots and shoes

Cordwainer a manufacturer of shoes, boots and high quality leather goods,

pronounced cordner (at least in Wessex? from Cordovan originally Cordova (Cordoba) in Spain.)

Jimmy Choo is a Hackney trained Cordwainer.

Og may have more to say on the Company he keeps.:)
 
Last edited:
In looking over the sch section, I ran into a few more words, most probably Yiddish in origin;

schlep - verb slang to move while supporting

schlocky - adj slang of decidedly inferior quality

schmuck - noun slang one deficient in judgment and good sense
 
Cobbler - A repairer of boots and shoes

Cordwainer a manufacturer of shoes, boots and high quality leather goods,

pronounced cordner (at least in Wessex? from Cordovan originally Cordova (Cordoba) in Spain.)

Jimmy Choo is a Hackney trained Cordwainer.

Og may have more to say on the Company he keeps.:)

My family have been, most consistently, members of the Scriveners and Parish Clerks but we have had members of Car Men and before the 19th Century other livery companies including Cordwainers, Bowyers, Armourers, Fletchers.

Og
 
This one peaked my interest;

saturnine - adj broodingly and sullenly unhappy
I couldn't figure out the connection to Saturn the Roman God of Time and agriculture who inspired the festival of Saturnalia -- known as Chronos and/or Baccus to the Greeks. Turns out that it isn't the God, but the Planet and medieval astrology that gives us Saturnine.

saturnine

"gloomy, morose, sluggish, grave," mid-15c., lit. "born under the influence of the planet Saturn," from M.E. Saturne (see Saturn). Medieval physiology believed these characteristics to be caused by the astrological influence of the planet Saturn, which was the most remote from the Sun (in the limited knowledge of the times) and thus coldest and slowest in its revolution.

I suspect that there may be some connection to the fact that Saturnalia is a winter solstice festival -- when skies are dark and gloomy -- may also have some bearing on the definition as well, but there's no traceable documentation for that suspicion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top