Seldom-Used Words

[Weird Harold]

I never knew the real definition of this one, due to its over-used description of a woman;

sultry - adj 1. marked by much heat 2. damp and warm

Google's define Sultry: turns up this:

• sensual: sexually exciting or gratifying; "sensual excesses"; "a sultry look"; "a sultry dance"
• characterized by oppressive heat and humidity; "the summer was sultry and oppressive"; "the stifling atmosphere"; "the sulfurous atmosphere preceding a thunderstorm"

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Almost every online definition includes some reference to "sensual" or "passionate" which your source lacks. I suspect the "damp and warm" is where the connection to describing a women is made.

 

[AllardChardon]

Exactly my thinking, Harold.

sub-rosa - adj existing or operating in a way so as to ensure complete concealment and confidentiality

 

[Xelebes]

Searching for an autocthonic word for literature, I came across this word: bookcraft. The definition is self-explanatory.

Another is Worldwrit (profane literature.) (OE: Weorold-writu; I have no idea how that suffix -u fits in Modern English orthography.)

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello, everyone. Here is today's entry;

subaltern - noun one belonging to a lower class or rank

 

[Weird Harold]

Hello, everyone. Here is today's entry;

subaltern - noun one belonging to a lower class or rank

That word I immediately assicate as a specific miltary rank -- between Captain and "Leftenant"

subaltern [ˈsʌbəltən]
n
1. (Military) a commissioned officer below the rank of captain in certain armies, esp the British
2. a person of inferior rank or position
3. (Philosophy / Logic) Logic
a. the relation of one proposition to another when the first is implied by the second, esp the relation of a particular to a universal proposition
b. (as modifier) a subaltern relation
adj
of inferior position or rank
[from Late Latin subalternus, from Latin sub- + alternus alternate, from alter the other]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

 

[AllardChardon]

Thanks, Harold, it sounded military to me from the start.

I don't hear this as much as I did when I was a kid;

stymie - verb to prevent from accomplishing a purpose

 

[Weird Harold]

Thanks, Harold, it sounded military to me from the start.

I don't hear this as much as I did when I was a kid;

stymie - verb to prevent from accomplishing a purpose

A fun search.

Apparently a golf term that found its way into general usage:

stymie
1834, (n.), "condition in which an opponent's golf ball blocks the hole," perhaps from Scottish stymie "person who sees poorly," from stime "the least bit" (c.1300), of uncertain origin (Icelandic cognate skima is attested from c.1685). The verb, in golf, is from 1857; general sense of "block, hinder, thwart" is from 1902.

ETA: a similar word with a similar history(?)

Definitions of snooker on the Web:

• fool or dupe; "He was snookered by the con-man's smooth talk"
• leave one's opponent unable to take a direct shot
• a form of pool played with 15 red balls and six balls of other colors and a cue ball

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

 

[AllardChardon]

That was fun, thanks again, Harold.

This one has three entries, but I only have knowledge of the last one;

stave - noun a fairly long, straight piece of solid material used esp. as a support in walking

stave - verb to move quickly

stave off - verb to prohibit from occurring by advance planning or action

 

[oggbashan]

That was fun, thanks again, Harold.

This one has three entries, but I only have knowledge of the last one;

stave - noun a fairly long, straight piece of solid material used esp. as a support in walking

...

Also:

noun
1. Each of the curved pieces of wood forming the sides of a cask, pail, etc.
2. = staff
3. A stanza or verse

verb.tr. past and past participle stove or staved
1. Break a hole in
2. Crush or knock out of shape

stave in Crush by forcing inwards
stave off past and past participle staved - avert or defer (esp. danger or misfortune)

Backformation from staves, plural of staff.

 

[trysail]

...And therefore three cheers for Nantucket; and come a stove boat and a stove body when they will, for stave my soul, Jove himself cannot...​

-Herman Melville
Moby-Dick, or The Whale
New York, 1983. (Library Of America edition)

 

[AllardChardon]

Amazing where posting a word can lead. Now I understand that line from Moby Dick much better. Thank you both, kind gentlemen.

I don't see this one around much anymore, either;

staid - adj full of or marked by dignity and seriousness

 

[AllardChardon]

How about this one;

spoor - noun evidence of passage left along a course followed by a hunted animal or fugitive

 

[oggbashan]

How about this one;

spoor - noun evidence of passage left along a course followed by a hunted animal or fugitive

Very familiar to me from Baden Powell's Scouting for Boys.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

I suppose spoor is used in the world of criminal investigations as well, Og.

spook - noun 1. a supernatural being 2. informal a person who secretly observes others to obtain information

spook - verb slang to write for and credit authorship to another

 

[1sickbastard]

wont-no not won't

Wont- a custom ot to be accustomed to something

 

[AllardChardon]

Here is one I have done repeatedly over the years without knowing the word for it;

sough - verb 1. to exhale audibly in a long, deep breath, as in sorrow, weariness, or relief 2. to make a low, continuous, and indistinct sound

 

[1sickbastard]

eyote, also called an 'ait'-a small island, especially in the middle of a stream or river

 

[oggbashan]

eyote, also called an 'ait'-a small island, especially in the middle of a stream or river

George Bernard Shaw lived on one in the River Thames.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

From my research into art exhibitions in Paris in the 1850s;

vernissage (varnishing, from French) is a term used for a preview of an art exhibition, often private, before the formal opening. Guests may be served canapés and wine as they discuss with artists and others the works in the exhibition. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only for invited guests, it is often called a private view.

At official exhibitions, such as the Royal Academy summer exhibition, artists, in the past, would give a finishing touch to their works by varnishing them (J. M. W. Turner was known for making significant changes to works on varnishing day while his fellow academicians were simply varnishing). The custom of patrons and the élite of visiting the academies during the varnishing day prior to the formal opening of the exhibition gave rise to the tradition of celebrating the completion of an art work or a series of art works with friends and sponsors. Nowadays, for commercial shows it is an opportunity to market the works on sale to buyers and critics.

There also is a comparable ceremonial ending of art exhibitions, called a finissage. Larger art exhibitions also may have such an event at half time of the exhibition called a midissage. These latter terms are rare in English; they are more commonly used in German or French.

This was too much fun to pass up.

 

[1sickbastard]

Mead-same as meadow, not the drink

 

[trysail]

prolusion • n., 1. a preliminary action or event; a prelude
2. a preliminary essay or article.
3. warm-up: exercising in preparation for strenuous activity




Damn! I stumbled upon this word in David Hawkes' John Milton: A Hero of Our Time and I couldn't have been more surprised. At the risk of appearing boastful, it is rare that I run across words ( other than scientific and technical terms ) that I have never seen before. Most of the time, while I may not know the definition of unfamilar words, I've at least seen them. That wasn't the case with prolusion; I don't recall having ever seen it before. You'd think it would appear more frequently as it has a specific meaning for common concepts. Is it possible that synonyms such as prelude or introduction are so popular that prolusion just doesn't come to the fore and, thus, doesn't get used?

 

[oggbashan]

From my research into art exhibitions in Paris in the 1850s;

vernissage (varnishing, from French) is a term used for a preview of an art exhibition, often private, before the formal opening. Guests may be served canapés and wine as they discuss with artists and others the works in the exhibition. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only for invited guests, it is often called a private view.

...

I get invited to the vernissages at a Museum in North Eastern France that I support with donations of relevant books for their specialist library. The invitation comes from the town's Mayor on very ornate headed paper - odd, because the Mayor is a Communist!

Years later I'm still kicking myself for not attending one vernissage. The theme of the exhibition was the use of lace on underwear. At the vernissage and only at the vernissage, the antique underwear was modelled by adult students from the local sports college, doing aerobics, acrobatics and modern dance.

I also get invited to all private viewings of new exhibitions and special events at the Chateau of Versailles in Paris - because I'm an annual season ticket holder.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

Well, Og, I hope you get invited to a vernissage while I am in London and you kindly ask me to attend with you for my edification. That lace on underwear exhibit sounded like a fun one, I'm sorry you missed it, too. It could have produced some exciting photo keepsakes, hehehehe.

Here is one my Dad used to say;

spiel - verb slang to talk volubly, persistently, and usually inconsequentially

 

[Weird Harold]

Well, Og, I hope you get invited to a vernissage while I am in London and you kindly ask me to attend with you for my edification. That lace on underwear exhibit sounded like a fun one, I'm sorry you missed it, too. It could have produced some exciting photo keepsakes, hehehehe.

Here is one my Dad used to say;

spiel - verb slang to talk volubly, persistently, and usually inconsequentially

I'm more familiar with the noun form:

from: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spiel

Etymology

The word has two possible etymologies:

* from the Scots word for game, competition, or (sporting) match [1] from the German Spiel.
* from שפּיל (shpil), a Yiddish word used in prison culture (cognate to German Spiel), an evolutionary stage between rap and hip hop and the earlier chain gang songs influenced by gospel and Afro-Caribbean music.

Noun

spiel (plural spiels)

1. A lengthy and extravagant speech or argument usually intended to persuade.
2. A fast excuse or sales pitch.

Verb

to spiel (third-person singular simple present spiels, present participle spieling, simple past and past participle spieled)

1. To talk at length.

I think, given the yiddish etymology, it has been pretty much replaced by "Rap" in American slang.

 

[1sickbastard]

I'm more familiar with the noun form:



I think, given the yiddish etymology, it has been pretty much replaced by "Rap" in American slang.

I disagree.

You say 'rap' to most Americans, and they tend to indentify it as a music genre.
You say spiel, they generally think a line of bullshit.

If one uses the word 'rap', meaning conversation, one of two things come to mind;
Its use in the 'Beat' subculture, late 1950's to late 1960's,
Its use by white, middle-class suburbanites (or high school guidance counselors, or christian youth ministers) in a pathetic attempt to sound 'cool' to the kids, early to mid 1970's



And for the next word-
Spell
1) to serve or work in the place of
2) to relieve or to take a period of rest
3)a period, turn, or fit of something (ex; Sit a spell. A spell of bad weather. He had another spell of depression)
4) a short distance
5) to tell or to relate