A post that is, essentially, word porn.

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.)