There are very few causes I get into (apart from general human rights issues and getting people to own up to their idiocy - but I don't count that). This morning, however, I came across the Oxford Dictionary's "Save The Words" website, in which they attempt to save an array of obscure, brilliant, near-defunct words by getting all of the readers to "adopt a word". There are hundreds of excellent words to browse through and add to your vocabulary, and if you're a sucker for a good vocabulary addition like me, it may take hours to choose which brilliant word will be your new baby. Once you've adopted a word, it's your duty to get that word back into your day-to-day vocabulary, share it with your friends, spread the word tirelessly - and this idea, I love.
So I adopted the word squiriferous, which means gentlemanly or chilvalrous: "When he held the door open for me, I was shocked that he was so squiriferous". My friend Sarah adopted vacivity, which may be my new favourite essay word - it means an emptiness, and it's delightfully simple to slip into your everyday sentences. Some other great words I've learnt today include:
Vapous – (adj.) flat, bland
Kexy – (adj.) brittled, withered
Scaevity – (n.) unluckiness
Crassulent – (adj.) very fat, grossly obese
Cacozealous – (aaj.) badly immitated
Egrote – (v.) to pretend to be ill
Latibule – (n.) hiding place
Roblet – (v.) lead astray
Tussicate – (v.) to cough
Blateration – (n.) babble, chatter
Vacivity – (n.) emptiness
Lubency – (n.) willingness
Pudify – (v.) to cause embarrassment
Quaeritate – (v.) to ask
Magistricide – (v.) to kill a teacher or master
Temerate – (v.) to break a bond or promise
Drollic – (adj.) pertaining to puppet shows
Foppotee – (n.) a simple-minded person
Epalprebate – (adj.) lacking eyebrows
Krioboly – (n.) sacrifice of many rams
Diffibulate – (v.) to unbutton
Eicastic – (adj.) immitative
Prandicle – (n.) small meal
Parepochism – (n.) an error in dating or assigning a time period
Starrify – (v.) to decorate with stars
Spicious – (adj.) of thick consistency
Mariturient – (adj.) eager to marry
Amorevolous – (adj.) affectionate, doting
Hemerine – (adj.) daily
Tudiculate – (v.) to bruise or pound
Sevedical – (adj.) speaking harsh or cruel words
Welmish – (adj.) of pale or sickly colour
Gnathonize – (v.) to flatter
Lugent – (adj.) sobbing, grieving
Venustation – (n.) the act of becoming beautiful
Misqueme – (v.) to displease
Pantdress - (n.) a women's one-piece outfit with pants as the bottoms - a romper
I can't help but love someone who puts a spin on the common language, so henceforth:
I hope you experience minimal scaevity in your kriboly, nor do you encounter lugent folk or encounter a scathefire which leaves you epalpebrate. Keep in mind that pantdresses will always fail to gnathonize, and may interrupt your venustation, and tudiculate your dignity out of you. Fill the vacivity of your vapous life and enhance your vocabulary so no one considers you a foppotee, and enjoy your next prandicle. I would hate to pudify, but it would will be most squiriferous of you to give this a shot.
(Note: I have never advertised anything this shamelessly without being paid but I suppose that this quirky little effort really spoke to me - if that's not the nerdiest thing you've heard today, then you probably hand out with people not dissimilar to myself. Don't hold it against me.)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
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