Seldom Used Words (Cont'd)

[AllardChardon]

Tio, there is a place called Glass Mountain near me that is made of solid obsidian. To collect samples, one has to wear thick clothing and sturdy shoes. A fall on the side of the sharp mountain will slice your clothes and skin. I collected several large and small rocks (without harm) and they are black and beautiful.

Og, I wonder if the American wrestler, Hulk Hogan, was able to separate his private life from his professional one. I think not.

This one could be useful in a crowded bar;

noli me tangere - noun a warning against touching or interference

 

[Tio_Narratore]

noli me tangere might be an appropriate sign for posting around Glass Mountain. There are a number of Obsidian deposits in North America, and this volcanic glass was in great demand for stone tools. Each deposit has its own specific elemental composition, and so archaeologists can trace its origins when they find tools made of it. I have two projectile points from Pennsylvania made out of Glass Mountain obsidian.

 

[AllardChardon]

Tio, I would imagine that the obsidian from here would have been traded and ended up elsewhere, but I never thought it would make it that far. I found a small handmade brick of red earth that my archeologist friend told me was also traded for goods. It was the stuff the Modocs used to make their red paint and dyes.

noil - noun short fiber removed during the combing of a textile fiber spun into yarn for cloth

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Red ochre. Been used for ceremonial and artistic purposes for over 50,000 years. European "exploration" and settlement of North America, by the way, followed Native American trade routes, some of which were thousands of years old. I know you're familiar with the Natchez Trace, and that was one of the shorter ones. Sacajawea didn't lead Lewis and Clark into unchartered territory; she took them on the rounds of trading partners.

And thanks for "noil;" I didn't know what to call that stuff.

 

[Handley_Page]

nom de guerre - name for war, was and is used for fighters such as boxers and wrestlers. It was a name chosen to be memorable. There was a professional UK wrestler called 'Giant Haystacks'. His real name was Martin Austin Ruane.

The ancient Greek and Roman fighters, including professional gladiators, had a nom de guerre.

The idea was (and is) that they could separate their private and professional identities...

And 'Big Daddy' was really Shirley Crabtree (a former Guardsman)

 

[oggbashan]

Some Generals end up with either a cognomen or a nom de guerre.

A couple of examples: Stonewall Jackson; Erwin Rommel - The Desert Fox.

 

[AllardChardon]

Red ochre, yes, I do remember my friend calling it that. Thanks, Tio. And you are welcome for noil. I am always interested in the textile trades, throughout the ages.

Stonewall Jackson is a great example, Og, of a nom de guerre. U.S. Grant had the same thing, that is, Unconditional Surrender Grant, instead of his real name, Hiram Ulysses Grant.

Here is an interesting grouping;

nog - noun a wooden peg, pin, or block of the size of a brick; esp: one built into a wall as a hold for nails

nog - noun 1. a strong ale formerly brewed in Norfolk, England 2. [by shortening] EGGNOG 3. an often alcoholic drink containing beaten egg, milk, or both

noggin - noun 1. a small mug or cup 2. a small quantity (as a gill) of drink 3. a person's head

nogging - noun a rough brick masonry used to fill in the open spaces of a wooden frame

What does (as a gill) mean, please?

 

[Tio_Narratore]

a gill is a measure of volume equal to a quarter of a pint, or four ounces, or a half-cup. It has become a rarely used word, with "half-cup" coming into general use to replace it.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

What does (as a gill) mean, please?

You've gotten a reply to this question. if you're interested, there's a good bit more at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_(unit)

 

[oggbashan]

a gill is a measure of volume equal to a quarter of a pint, or four ounces, or a half-cup. It has become a rarely used word, with "half-cup" coming into general use to replace it.

When Og was young, he used to visit his father's large office in Gibraltar. There were several items in that office that interested him.

The favourite were a rack of cutlasses that had been discarded after the Battle of Trafalgar. They all showed signs of damage, most by contact with other edged weapons, but some by cannon shot.

But there was also a large range of measuring buckets in polished brass. There were two sets, one for liquids and the other for grain. The liquid ones ranged from a kilderkin (18 Imperial Gallons, 81.83 litres) down to a quarter of a gill. But they, and the grain measures, had been made redundant by changes in 1824, or possibly 1803, when Imperial measures were standardised. They were just for display.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, gentlemen, for answering my question so nicely. I love learning about things that have gone by the wayside for one reason or another.

noetic - noun of, relating to, or based on purely intellectual apprehension

 

[Tio_Narratore]

It played its role, too, in Teilhard de Chardin's vision of a teleological evolution that led from geosphere through zoosphere to noosphere, wherein all would be pure intellect.

Hello my dearest unwife; I trust all is well in NoCal...

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, my sweet unspouse, the weather here is much better than most places in the US. and Canada, right now. Are you staying warm? Pure intellect, huh? I might miss my physicality too much for that.

nodus - noun COMPLICATION, DIFFICULTY

 

[Tio_Narratore]

-30F with windchill. I think I should head west.

Pure intellect? not much fun, and the whole idea derives from the original, false dualism of body and spirit. I'm an intellectual, they tell me, and I haven't seen anyone thinking without a brain. Well, maybe some brainless politicians, but can you really call that 'thinking?' We'll deal with that nodus when we get to it, dear.

 

[AllardChardon]

False dualism of body and spirit, I like the sound of that, may I quote you? Why did early man think the body and its desires were so inferior to the mind and its perceptions? I prefer the Yogic way of body, mind, and spirit, all in one, not separate, nor lesser than.

Here is a word I thought I knew, until I read the first definition of it;

node - noun 1. an entangling complication: PREDICAMENT 2.a. a thickened or swollen enlargement b. discreet mass of one kind of tissue enclosed in tissue of a different kind 3. either of the two points where the orbit of a planet or comet intersects the ecliptic 4.a. a point at which subsidiary parts originate or center b. a point on a stem at which a leaf or leaves are inserted 5. a point, line, or surface of a vibrating body that is free or relatively free from vibratory motion

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Actually we don't really know what early man thought. But the dualism of which we speak first finds evidence in ancient Greek philosophy. Other people, more civilized, perhaps, saw no such duality. The Iroquoian concept of Orenda refers to the unity of it all, as do the Yogic principles. The Iroquoian term has been abused, I feel, in a recent popular novel, but it isn't the first time Europeans got things wrong.

 

[AllardChardon]

Tio, I should have said ancient Greeks instead of early man, since they are so far apart, but that is what I meant. It was all so long ago and still has such a impact on today, I find it fascinating. I suppose it all had to do with trying to be better than the beasts we had dominion over, or something like that. I like my animal nature and am more willing to explore that side at this stage of my life than my spiritual one, which had the school of hard knocks adding its part to my soul's evolution. I find forgiveness is much harder in practice, than merely mouthing words in church.

noddy - noun 1. a stupid person 2. any of several stout-bodied terns of warm seas

 

[oggbashan]

...

noddy - noun 1. a stupid person 2. any of several stout-bodied terns of warm seas

Noddy - A character in some of Enid Blyton's books for children. The original versions have had to be edited because some of the other characters are now politically incorrect.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/noddy.php

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, pray tell, what characters from these children's books are now politically incorrect. Buckwheat from Our Gang and Amos and Andy are seen that way now. There is a Bing Crosby Christmas movie, Holiday Inn, where Bing performs in blackface that is also avoided for the same reason.

noddle - noun HEAD, PATE

 

[oggbashan]

Og, pray tell, what characters from these children's books are now politically incorrect. Buckwheat from Our Gang and Amos and Andy are seen that way now. There is a Bing Crosby Christmas movie, Holiday Inn, where Bing performs in blackface that is also avoided for the same reason.

Golly, a golliwog doll, is always in trouble with PC Plod.

Policemen don't like being called 'PC Plod', nor do people like the sole black character always being the villain.

 

[oggbashan]

...

noddle - noun HEAD, PATE

Dictionary of Historical Slang:

noddle-case - a wig

noddle-thatcher - a wig maker

noddy-headed - drunk

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, ever notice how the only black guy in American movies usually gets killed?

Here are a pair of words, not next to each other, but related;

nocent - adj 1. HARMFUL 2. archaic: GUILTY, CRIMINAL

nocuous - adj likely to cause injury: HARMFUL

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, ever notice how the only black guy in American movies usually gets killed?

Here are a pair of words, not next to each other, but related;

nocent - adj 1. HARMFUL 2. archaic: GUILTY, CRIMINAL

nocuous - adj likely to cause injury: HARMFUL

Now there's interesting.
The opposites appear at last. The words without the IN- at the front.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Now there's interesting.
The opposites appear at last. The words without the IN- at the front.

In fact, I mentioned nocent some time ago, in the old thread. I don't recall whether I mentioned its close relative nocuous or not.

 

[AllardChardon]

I do remember that, Carlus, but I wanted to add the other word to it, so I decided to post it, again. It is a great word, twice.

Handley, it is interesting that both of the 'in' words are still used and the root words are not.

Another grouping, sounding alike, but different;

nocturn - noun a principal division of the office of matins

nocturnal - noun 1. of, relating to, or occurring in the night [a ~ journey] 2. active at night [a ~ predator]

nocturne - noun a work of art dealing with night; esp: a dreamy pensive composition for the piano