Seldom-Used Words

[AllardChardon]

A lovely weekend wish for all;

obverse(1) - adj 1. facing the observer or opponent 2. having the base narrower than the top

obverse(2) - noun 1.a. the side of a coin or currency note that bears the principal device and lettering b. a front or principal surface 2.a. a counterpart necessarily involved in or answering to a fact or truth b. a proposition inferred immediately from another by denying the opposite of that which the given proposition affirms [the ~ of "all A is B" is "no A is not B]

 

[Handley_Page]

A lovely weekend wish for all;

b. a proposition inferred immediately from another by denying the opposite of that which the given proposition affirms [the ~ of "all A is B" is "no A is not B]

For a moment there I thought you might be going into Mathematics (de Morgans theorems) & Logic.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, it sounded like that to me, too. The definition was so interesting, I had to post (2), and thought to include (1), as well.

Here is one of my favorite words;

obtuse - adj 1. lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility: INSENSITIVE 2.a. (1) of an angle: exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 (2) having an obtuse angle b. not pointed or acute: BLUNT c. of a leaf: rounded at the free end

 

[AllardChardon]

Hello everyone, a lovely Sunday evening here, hope you are having a nice one, too;

obturate - vt OBSTRUCT, CLOSE

 

[Handley_Page]

Hello everyone, a lovely Sunday evening here, hope you are having a nice one, too;

obturate - vt OBSTRUCT, CLOSE

Have you considered OBDURATE?

1 Hardened, esp. in wrongdoing, against moral influence or persuasion; stubbornly impenitent; obstinate, unyielding, hard-hearted. LME.
2 Physically hardened or hard.

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

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, I am a little surprised at the amount of OB words there are in the dictionary. The word you posted is still ahead of me and, now, thanks to you, I will not have to post that one.

obtrude - vb 1. to thrust out: EXTRUDE 2. to thrust forward or call to notice without warrant or request

obtrusive - adj 1. thrust out: PROTRUDING 2.a. FORWARD, PUSHING [~ behavior] b. undesirably noticeable or showy

 

[AllardChardon]

I have never heard or read this word before;

obtest - vb BESEECH, SUPPLICATE

 

[oggbashan]

...

obverse(2) - noun 1.a. the side of a coin or currency note that bears the principal device and lettering.

...

Of a coin, obverse usually means Tail as opposed to Head. On UK coins the monarch's head is the head. The denomination is shown on the tail.

"Heads and Tails" can of course mean 69.

Tossing a coin, and calling Heads or Tails can start any number of games, including Cricket, or other *games*.

Obverse can mean perverse...

 

[sr71plt]

frission -- a brief moment of emotional excitement.

I first encountered this recently in an Alison Weir novel on Elizabeth I, where it was used in a description of the sex act. (Thomas Seymour having his way with Elizabeth.)

 

[AllardChardon]

sr71plt, the movie Anonymous goes on to say that Edward De Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford, was the child born of that union, if I remember correctly.

Og, yes, obverse is a very useful word, and thanks for pointing out its additional points of interest.

I decided to add this next one, because if its relevance here in the U.S.;

obstructionism - noun deliberate interference with the progress or business esp. of a legislative body

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Of a coin, obverse usually means Tail as opposed to Head. On UK coins the monarch's head is the head. The denomination is shown on the tail.

To coin collectors, the obverse of a coin is the side commonly called "heads"; the "tails" side is the reverse.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

frission -- a brief moment of emotional excitement.

Frisson? I don't think there's a second i in the word.

 

[sr71plt]

Frisson? I don't think there's a secomd i in the word.

Right. No second "i."

 

[AllardChardon]

Good evening, all. I must add this next one, due to its uniqueness;

obstreperous - adj 1. uncontrollably noisy; CLAMOUROUS 2. stubbornly defiant; UNRULY syn - VOCIFEROUS

 

[AllardChardon]

One would think these two words are related, but their roots are different;

obsequy - noun a funeral or burial rite - usually used in plural

obsequious - adj exhibiting a servile attentiveness or compliance: SYCOPHANTIC

 

[oggbashan]

One would think these two words are related, but their roots are different;

obsequy - noun a funeral or burial rite - usually used in plural

...

Quote from Hamlet, Act V, Scene 1 - Burial of Ophelia

Laertes:
What ceremony else?

1st Priest:
Her obsequies have been as far enlarg'd
As we have warrantise: her death was doubtful;
And, but that great command o'versways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodg'd
Till the last trumpet; for charitable prayers,
Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her;
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.

On Tuesday evening we went to a transmission of a 2010 staging of Hamlet by the National Theatre. It was set in a modern police state, with dark-suited men hovering everywhere, recording everything.

When Ophelia was raving Act IV Scene V, instead of 'exiting' she was bundled out of the room by the security guards, while Laertes back was turned. The implication was that she was to be 'disappeared' as an embarrassment to the King.

The Queen's circumstantial and detailed report to Laertes of Ophelia's death, Act IV Scene VII:

There is a willow grows aslant a brook...

was played as if it was the 'official' version of her death, not what actually happened to Ophelia.

That was believable, because in the normal presentation of that speech all the details given must have been witnessed by an observer. If there had been such an observer, why didn't they rescue Ophelia? They had time to record all the circumstantial detail yet not to lift a finger to save her?

The obsequies granted to Ophelia were greater than should have been given to a suicide. As played by the National Theatre's production, her suicide is more likely to have been killing by the King's agents, so the King's instructions to the priests make sense.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Og, for sharing your recent viewing of a modern version of Hamlet. I have seen a couple of modern versions and they play well in almost any era, of course. How could they not, they were so well-written in the first place. Slight changes gives one another perspective, which is always refreshing.

obscurantism - noun 1. opposition to the spread of knowledge 2.a. deliberate vagueness or abstruseness b. an act or instance of obscurantism

 

[Handley_Page]

obscurantism - noun 1. opposition to the spread of knowledge 2.a. deliberate vagueness or abstruseness b. an act or instance of obscurantism

Isn't this an off-shoot of modern Management ?

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, that word certainly has modern uses!

I feel I must post this often-used word, because this is Literotica;

obscene - adj 1. disgusting to the senses: REPULSIVE 2. abhorrent to morality or virtue; specif: designed to incite to lust or depravity

 

[AllardChardon]

Here is an odd one;

obnubilate - noun BECLOUD

I suppose one could say Seattle is currently obnubilated to the utmost degree.

 

[Handley_Page]

Here is an odd one;

obnubilate - noun BECLOUD

I suppose one could say Seattle is currently obnubilated to the utmost degree.

So are we.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, I must admit I have never heard becloud before, either. I read that England was experiencing heavy rains and severe storm conditions, which come from clouds, but I was referring to the monster fog bank that moved into Seattle about a week ago with several more days before it moves on. I wonder if the two aren't more related than one might think.

obloquy - noun 1. strongly condemnatory utterance or language 2. the condition of one that is spoken ill of: bad repute

 

[Handley_Page]

I think you've highlighted a quirk in the language.
The prefix 'be' seems to indicate some sort of 'doing' or action.
Beclothe, (to dress),
Beclog, (to encumber with something sticky, clotting)

My Oxford has Becloud as 'to cover or darken with clouds or murk; to make obscure or gloomy'.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

I think you've highlighted a quirk in the language.
The prefix 'be' seems to indicate some sort of 'doing' or action.
Beclothe, (to dress),
Beclog, (to encumber with something sticky, clotting)

My Oxford has Becloud as 'to cover or darken with clouds or murk; to make obscure or gloomy'.

From the dictionary included on my Mac:

be- |bɪ-|

prefix
1 forming verbs:
• all over; all around: bespatter.
• thoroughly; excessively: bewilder.
2 (added to intransitive verbs) expressing transitive action: bemoan.
3 (added to adjectives and nouns) expressing transitive action: befool | befriend.
4 (added to nouns) affect with: befog.
• (added to adjectives) cause to be: befoul.
5 (forming adjectives ending in -ed) having; covered with: bejeweled.

ORIGIN Old English, weak form of bī ‘by.’

 

[Handley_Page]

From the dictionary included on my Mac:

be- |bɪ-|

prefix
1 forming verbs:
• all over; all around: bespatter.
• thoroughly; excessively: bewilder.
2 (added to intransitive verbs) expressing transitive action: bemoan.
3 (added to adjectives and nouns) expressing transitive action: befool | befriend.
4 (added to nouns) affect with: befog.
• (added to adjectives) cause to be: befoul.
5 (forming adjectives ending in -ed) having; covered with: bejeweled.

ORIGIN Old English, weak form of bī ‘by.’

Most useful & informative. Many thanks