ləˈɡɒməkɪ Logomachy: An argument about words Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word.* I do not think it means what you think it means. William Goldman, The Princess Bride Once people start to argue about the words they’ve been using in their argument, they’re having a logomachy. Nothing much useful happens after that, unless they’re … Continue reading Logomachy
iːˈɡɒfənɪ ægophony: a characteristic “bleating” quality heard in conducted voice-sounds when listening to the chest over an area of consolidated lung When I was a medical student, we spent a lot of time listening to patient’s chests with our stethoscopes. Two things we were told to listen for were bleating ægophony and whispering pectoriloquy, which … Continue reading Aegophony
ˈneɪkriːəs nacreous: pertaining to or resembling mother-of-pearl Nacreous clouds are in the UK news at present, with multiple sightings in Scotland. There was an interesting divide in the BBC news coverage of the phenomenon this evening, with national newsreader George Alagiah intoning some twaddle about “forming at sunset” and “caused by refraction” in a sing-song … Continue reading Nacreous
ædˈvɛspəreɪt advesperate: to draw towards night Writing about crepuscular rays recently reminded me that there are two kinds of crepuscule (twilight): matutine, from the Latin matutinus, “morning”, and vespertine from vespertinus, “evening”. Vespertinus is of course the origin of vespers, the evening prayer in some versions of Christianity. And it gives us my headword for … Continue reading Advesperate
ˌflɒksɪˌnɔːsɪˌnɪhɪlɪˌpɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən Floccinaucinihilipilification: The act of estimating as worthless Flocci, nauci, nihili, pili, assis, hujus, teruncii, his verbis, aestimo, pendo, facio, peculiariter adduntur. Eton Latin Grammar (1758) What the sentence above was telling generations of Etonians is that the verbs aestimo (“to value”), pendo (“to weigh or consider”) and facio (“to make”) take certain objects irregularly in … Continue reading Floccinaucinihilipilification
fɔəˈɡəʊ forgo: To abstain from, go without, deny oneself If that word looks a little odd to you, it’s perhaps because you’ve seen it written “forego” more often than “forgo”. But forego is a different word, meaning “to go before, or in advance of”. At a Burns Supper, a few may be tempted to forgo … Continue reading Forgo
… and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 ɡəʊld Gold: The most precious metal, characterized by its yellow colour The word gold comes to English through the Germanic languages, and its origin can be traced all the way back to a Proto-Indo-European root … Continue reading Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh
ˈhwɛəfə(r) Wherefore: Why There are several ways of misquoting Shakespeare. One is to misquote Shakespeare without knowing it’s Shakespeare at all. Most people who use the phrase “to gild the lily” probably fall into that category, unaware of the original version. King John Act 4, Scene 2: SALISBURY: […] To gild refinèd gold, to paint … Continue reading Wherefore
ˈskaɪəpɒd Skiapod or Sciapod: A mythological human with a single leg and large foot, used to provide shade in tropical regions The existence of skiapods was common knowledge in Classical times—they are mentioned by Aristophanes in his play The Birds, and by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, in which the are described as … Continue reading Skiapod
sɪθ Sith: Since With the imminent release of a new Star Wars film, I couldn’t resist offering up this word. No, it has nothing to do with Sith Lords. Sith is an archaic word. Like its cousin since, it can act as an adverb, a preposition, or a conjunction. And like since, it has meanings … Continue reading Sith