Seldom-Used Words

[AllardChardon]

Yes, indeed, Og,

punk(1) - noun archaic 1. PROSTITUTE 2. NONSENSE BUNKUM 3.a. a young inexperienced person; esp: a young man: BOY b. a young, gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian

punk(2) - adj very poor, INFERIOR; also: being in poor health

punk(3) - noun 1. wood so decayed as to be dry, crumbly, and useful for tinder 2. a dry spongy substance prepared from fungi and used to ignite fuses esp. of fireworks

 

[sweetmoonbeam]

chantepleure

n. Alternate singing and weeping.
n. In architecture, a narrow vertical hole or slit in a wall, to let the overflow of a stream or any other water that may collect pass through.


On top of being really fun to say, I like that it has two meanings that have absolutely nothing to do with each other whatsoever.

 

[ishtat]

chantepleure

n. Alternate singing and weeping.
n. In architecture, a narrow vertical hole or slit in a wall, to let the overflow of a stream or any other water that may collect pass through.


On top of being really fun to say, I like that it has two meanings that have absolutely nothing to do with each other whatsoever.

More specifically Chantepleure is an archaic word from Middle English referring to a French poem addressed to someone who sings in this world but is destined to weep in the next.

Thus a spout from a gutter on a building which was happily dry most of the time 'wept' with rain from time to time. Such spouts, often moulded in lead are often found discharging the water from the roofs of old cathedrals in Europe.

Thus you can see, the meanings are related albeit a little obscurely.

 

[sweetmoonbeam]

More specifically Chantepleure is an archaic word from Middle English referring to a French poem addressed to someone who sings in this world but is destined to weep in the next.

Thus a spout from a gutter on a building which was happily dry most of the time 'wept' with rain from time to time. Such spouts, often moulded in lead are often found discharging the water from the roofs of old cathedrals in Europe.

Thus you can see, the meanings are related albeit a little obscurely.

Wonderful explanation. Thank you.

 

[sweetmoonbeam]

petrichor

The scent of rain on dry earth. Derived from the Greek name for the liquid that flows through the veins of gods.

 

[PayDay]

Nice.

petrichor

The scent of rain on dry earth. Derived from the Greek name for the liquid that flows through the veins of gods.

Sexy. Very sexy. I'm stealing it.---^

quittance: n - 1. Release from a debt or an obligation. 2. Something given as recompense.

 

[patrick1]

Yes, indeed, Og,

punk(1) - noun archaic 1. PROSTITUTE 2. NONSENSE BUNKUM 3.a. a young inexperienced person; esp: a young man: BOY b. a young, gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian

punk(2) - adj very poor, INFERIOR; also: being in poor health

punk(3) - noun 1. wood so decayed as to be dry, crumbly, and useful for tinder 2. a dry spongy substance prepared from fungi and used to ignite fuses esp. of fireworks

Websters 1971, before the Sex Pistols redefined punk

Patrick

 

[Handley_Page]

Websters 1971, before the Sex Pistols redefined punk

Patrick

[off topic]

Are you sure they did?. to my mind then and now:
punk(2) - adj very poor, INFERIOR;
is very correct for that noise !

[on topic]

 

[PayDay]

Pssshhht.

[off topic]

Are you sure they did?. to my mind then and now:
punk(2) - adj very poor, INFERIOR;
is very correct for that noise !

[on topic]

Only if you apply it that way.

So:
imago: n - (pl: imagoes or imaginess) 1. An insect in its sexually mature adult stage.

and

imbroglio: n - 1a. A difficult or intricate situation. b. A confused or complicated disagreement. 2. A confused heap; tangle.

 

[PayDay]

...and another...

tyro: n - A beginner (From the Latin tiro meaning recruit.).

and

ubiquitous: adj - Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time: Omnipresent.

ubiquity: n
ubiquitousness: n
ubiquitously: adv

 

[SweetWitch]

pixilated, pixillated [ˈpɪksɪˌleɪtɪd]
adj Chiefly US
1. eccentric or whimsical
2. Slang drunk
3. TxRad

 

[Etaski]

Truculent; adjective: eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.


I read it tonight in a Gary Larson cartoon originally from 1991.

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello, everyone. I am safely returned from my trip to Tennessee and so glad to see you carried on perfectly well without me. Welcome, sweetmoonbeam and Etaski.

punitory - adj punitive

 

[Handley_Page]

I have a lot of trouble with **tory words.

Nugatory: Negative. A "nothing" return to a written question.
[mostly military use]

 

[JackLuis]

I have a lot of trouble with **tory words.

Nugatory: Negative. A "nothing" return to a written question.
[mostly military use]

American military spelling would be, "Negatory" from my experience.

and a bump to AC for maintaining the thread.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

American military spelling would be, "Negatory" from my experience

The American military's word is "negatory".

"Nugatory" is a different word, with a somewhat different meaning and an altogether different root.

 

[Handley_Page]

The American military's word is "negatory".

"Nugatory" is a different word, with a somewhat different meaning and an altogether different root.

I suspect my old Sergeant was wrong and I should have checked:-

nugatory nugatorius, f. nugat- pa. ppl stem of nugari trifle,
1 Trifling, of no value or importance, worthless.
2 Not valid, inoperative; useless, futile.
nugatoriness n. M19.


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

 

[trysail]

tensegrity • n., (architecture, design) the property of skeleton structures that employ continuous tension members and discontinuous compression members in such a way that each member operates with the maximum efficiency and economy;
• adj., noting any of a series of structures developed by R. Buckminster Fuller that embody this property.







I first learned the word when a sculpture employing this technique was installed near my then abode.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Tensegrity_simple_3.gif

The simplest tensegrity structure. Each of three compression members (green) is symmetric with the other two, and symmetric from end to end. Each end is connected to three cables (red) which provide compression...

 

[Handley_Page]

You can go dizzy staring at that, for all the clever science.

 

[AllardChardon]

In the spirit of the day;

nativity - noun 1. cap: the birth of Christ 2. cap: CHRISTMAS 3. the process or circumstances of being born: BIRTH 4. a horoscope at or of the time of one's birth 5. the place of origin

 

[AllardChardon]

I missed these three definitions of an otherwise familiar word;

punt(1) - noun a long, narrow flat-bottomed boat with square ends usually propelled by a pole

punt(2) - vt to propel by pushing with a pole against the bottom

punt(3) - vi 1. to play at a gambling game against the banker 2. British: GAMBLE, BET

 

[oggbashan]

I missed these three definitions of an otherwise familiar word;

punt(1) - noun a long, narrow flat-bottomed boat with square ends usually propelled by a pole

punt(2) - vt to propel by pushing with a pole against the bottom

punt(3) - vi 1. to play at a gambling game against the banker 2. British: GAMBLE, BET

and from New Oxford Dictionary
punt verb - kick the ball after it has dropped from the hands and before it reaches the ground. (Rugby) noun - a kick of this kind.

quant noun - (British) a pole for propelling a punt or other water craft. verb - to use a quant to propel a punt.

and

punt verb (with no object) - to travel in a punt.
punt verb (with object) - to convey someone or something in a punt.

from Dictionary of Historical Slang:

punt - verb to act as an auctioneers' decoy, making bids to push up the price. hence: punter one who punts. and hence again: to be a purchaser, expecting to make an unlikely profit; and an outsider betting on horses in a small way; hence again: A small scale speculator on the Stock Market; and hence again: a dupe, a swindler's customer or mark.

 

[trysail]

plyometrics • n., a system of exercise in which the muscles are repeatedly stretched and suddenly contracted ( from Greek plio [ more ] + metric ).

...a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric exercises may also be referred to as explosive exercises. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities. Plyometrics has been shown across the literature to be beneficial to a variety of athletes. Benefits range from injury prevention, power development and sprint performance amongst others...


Muscle-tendon component:
For a muscle to cause movement, it must shorten; this is known as a concentric contraction. There is a maximum amount of force with which a certain muscle can concentrically contract. However, if the muscle is lengthened while loaded (eccentric contraction) just prior to the contraction, it will produce greater force through the storage of elastic energy. The quick transition from the eccentric to the concentric phase is known as the stretch shortening cycle (SSC), and is one of the underlying mechanisms of plyometric training.The force created by the muscled-tendon during the SSC is determined by the muscle's length and compliance. To increase power through plyometrics two integral controlling aspects are required. These aspects include “a more rapid initial stretch, which generates more power in the muscle group moving in the opposite direction in the second phase of the action; and a shorter time between eccentric and concentric contractions (SSC)".

Nearly all animals have different types of muscles to produce different types of reactions. Humans have three different types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch (Type I), fast-twitch A (Type IIa), and fast-twitch B (Type IIb). Type I muscle fibers are recruited for aerobic activities, so therefore contract slowly, but are very resistant to fatigue. Type IIa muscle fibers have both endurance and power characteristics and are recruited for long anaerobic activities. They lie in the middle of Type I and Type IIb muscle fibers as they are more fatigue resistant than Type IIb muscle fibers, but less fatigue resistant than Type I muscle fibers. Type IIb muscle fibers are recruited only for short intense activities like lifting heavy objects, sprinting and jumping. Exercising fast twitch muscles to produce quicker reactions is the basis of plyometrics.

Although each type of muscle fiber cannot be converted into another (i.e. fast-twitch to slow-twitch), specific types of training can increase the area occupied by the targeted muscle fiber. Fast twitch muscle fibers have a greater ability to hypertrophy, therefore specified training targeting fast twitch muscle fibers can increase the area in the muscle that fast twitch muscle fibers will occupy. For example if the occupancy of fast twitch to slow twitch muscle fibers is 50-50, with the right training regiment, fast twitch muscle fibers may increase to occupy 75% of that muscle.

Not only was the Christmas dinner fare excellent, I learned a new word from one of the superb young athletes in attendence. I'd never heard or seen the word before.

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

 

[oggbashan]

Plyometrics sounds exactly like the Charles Atlas course I bought in the early 1960s.

 

[trysail]

Plyometrics sounds exactly like the Charles Atlas course I bought in the early 1960s.

As the expression goes...

Everything's been thought of before, the hard part is to remember it.