Seldom-Used Words

[woodsport]

butt rigging, it's a logging term.

 

[AllardChardon]

infrangibility - inviolability

Never heard either one, lol!

 

[JackLuis]

Vaginismus is an involuntary spasm of the muscles surrounding the vagina. The spasms close the vagina.

Symptoms
* Vaginal penetration during sex is difficult or impossible.
* Vaginal pain is common during sexual intercourse or an attempted pelvic exam.

Vaginismus is considered a disorder of sexual dysfunction. It has several possible causes, including past sexual trauma or abuse, psychological factors, or a history of discomfort with sexual intercourse. Sometimes no cause can be found.

I have a whole saga, that uses this. Didn't know there was such a thing.

You can imagine the therapy sessions.

 

[Eutopia]

Uvula - a small fleshy finger-like flap of tissue that hangs in the back of the throat and is an extension of the soft palate.

Oddly enough, I never see this word used. You think you would, seeing as there is an infinite amount of love extended towards the blow-job in this site on which we prey.

Fact: Uvula means a little grape in Medieval Latin. ;D

 

[trysail]

• pecksniffian adj., of or pertaining to pecksniffery; unctuously hypocritical; sanctimonious.
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Etymology: derived from the character "Seth Pecksniff" in the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit.

 

[matriarch]

prestidigitation

Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation ("quick fingers") or legerdemain (from the French for "lightness of hand"), is the set of techniques used by a magician (or card sharp) to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly.

 

[AllardChardon]

For some reason, I never put these two together before;

infidel - 1. one who is not a Christian or opposes Christianity 2. a. an unbeliever in respect to a particular religion b. one who acknowledges no religious belief 3. a disbeliever in something specified or understood: syn: ATHEIST

infidelity - 1. lack of belief in a religion 2. a. unfaithfulness to a moral obligation b. marital unfaithfulness or an instance of it

 

[AllardChardon]

A word I love to use;

galore - (from IrGael go leor meaning enough: abundant, plentiful - used postpositively

 

[MisterGone]

Misexpected - When your expectations were wrong, you misexpected.

My girlfriend came up with this one.
Not in any dictionary that I could find. It is a "real word".
Had to call Websters to confirm it.
Only used once in English written history, circa seventeen-something-something.

 

[AllardChardon]

apoplexy - sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion caused by rupture or obstruction of an artery of the brain

 

[AllardChardon]

I heard these used on Deadwood, a great source for seldom used words.

gambit - 1. a chess opening in which a player risks one or more minor pieces to gain an advantage in position 2. a. a remark intended to start a conversation or core a point b. a calculated move: STRATAGEM

trope - 1. the use of a word or expression in a figurative sense; FIGURE OF SPEECH 2. a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the mass in the medieval period

 

[Handley_Page]

apoplexy
sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion caused by rupture or obstruction of an artery of the brain

It can be used non-medically to mean a state of extreme rage or excitement.
It's a phrase less used these days, but there was a time when furious person could have an fit of apoplexy.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, Thanks for the clarification. That one is from Deadwood, too. Here is another;

raucous - 1. disagreeably harsh or strident: HOARSE 2. boisterously disorderly

 

[quimsical]

susurration -- a soft murmur, or whisper. I like words that are onomatopoeias. If this word were pronounced languidly at summer camp while a sleeping lad had his fingers in warm water, I think we'd get micturition.

 

[AllardChardon]

grapheme - 1. a letter of an alphabet 2. the sum of all written letters and letter combinations that represent one phoneme ( the p in pin, the pp of hopping and the gh of hiccough are all members of one grapheme)

 

[Xelebes]

Along with grapheme, there are these terms:

digraph: a phoneme represented by two graphemes. eg. ch, sh, gh, th, ij, ae, oe, aa, ee, oo and so forth.

trigraph: a phoneme represented by three graphemes. eg. igh, ieu

tetragraph: a phoneme represented by three graphemes. eg. ough, eigh, augh

 

[AllardChardon]

Here's one I should know ince I livewith the stuff in winter;

graupel - granular snow pellets, aka: soft hail

 

[Handley_Page]

Handley, Thanks for the clarification. That one is from Deadwood, too. Here is another;

raucous - 1. disagreeably harsh or strident: HOARSE
2. boisterously disorderly

raucous: the sort of row made by an active load of schoolchildren when the Teacher is out of the room.

Hoarse. a loss of voice power suffered by the Teacher upon return, when nobody is listening.

inviolable:

inviolable /nvlb()l/ a. LME. [(O)Fr., or L inviolabilis, f. as IN-3 + VIOLABLE.]
1 To be kept sacred or free from attack; not to be infringed or dishonoured.
2 Not yielding to force or violence; unable to be broken, forced, or injured.
inviolability n. the quality or fact of being inviolable

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

 

[ishtat]

Emmet an ant quite commonly used in the west of England.

Maybe a common word today but so rare in 1850 it was included in Halliwells dictionary of archaic words. It has had a comeback since the 1920's

 

[AllardChardon]

Here's an interesting entry;

venal - capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration: PURCHASABLE esp: MERCENARY, CORRUPT

 

[Tio_Narratore]

intersexual

"Intermediate in character between a typical male and a typical female."

 

[AllardChardon]

I love the sound of this sound as well as its definition;

euphony - 1. pleasing or sweet sound, esp. the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear 2. a harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound

 

[JeffLeigh]

Here's one I should know ince I livewith the stuff in winter;

graupel - granular snow pellets, aka: soft hail

It refers to corn-snow (as we call it in CO) and is horrible for making snowballs.

Hobnob - to socialize (it's my favorite word)

Piquant - from the French 'piquel' which means pricking -
1. Agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive.
2. Agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor.
3. Of an interestingly provocative or lively character.


Chiack - also Chyack - Australian in origin it means to tease, jeer at, or deride.

Osculate - To kiss, to come in close contact, or (in geometry) of a curve to touch another curve. Can be used with or without an object.

 

[AllardChardon]

Another good one with two entries;

hoity-toity - thoughtless giddy behavior

hoity-toity: 1. GIDDY, FLIGHTY 2. HAUGHTY, PATRONIZING

 

[quimsical]

Old-ish word that I love:

gamahuche: (transitive) To perform oral sex on a man or a woman; used especially for cunnilingus.

First encountered in Alan Moore's excellent "From Hell" where young Prince Albert's lover asks if he can gamahuche the prince. The prince, at first shocked, yields to his male lover, mumbling something about being weak.