Search found 14 matches

by tedholzman
Sun Oct 08, 2023 4:21 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: "O" as in O Great King
Replies: 1
Views: 1915

"O" as in O Great King

I'm kindof interested in "O". It seems to function as a form of direct address, like the vocative case in Latin. (Lewis Carroll makes fun of it in Alice : "but she remembered having seen in her brother's Latin Grammar, 'A mouse—of a mouse—to a mouse—a mouse—O mouse!')" But I can'...
by tedholzman
Mon Sep 18, 2023 12:15 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: obtundation
Replies: 1
Views: 1381

obtundation

Obtundation is a state similar to lethargy in which the patient has a lessened interest in the environment, slowed responses to stimulation, and tends to sleep more than normal with drowsiness in between sleep states. My legal residence is in this state. Latin obtundere "to blunt, make dull, we...
by tedholzman
Wed Oct 31, 2018 6:16 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: pareidolia
Replies: 1
Views: 4019

pareidolia

Seeing faces or shapes in a random mess. e.g. faces in clouds, carrots with the profile of Nixon.
by tedholzman
Fri Jul 13, 2012 8:56 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Nyctinasty
Replies: 3
Views: 5975

nyctinasty

Hi, Slava. I was looking at some botany posts on facebook. It turns out that there are a whole family of nasties: chemonasty, thigmonasty, photonasty. But nyctinasty struck me because it has that wonderful alliteration. The adjectival -nastic forms exist, too. The nasty suffix seems to be from Greek...
by tedholzman
Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:00 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Nyctinasty
Replies: 3
Views: 5975

Nyctinasty

The night time movements of leaves or other parts of a plant. For example, the closing of flowers at night. (although it sounds more like it should mean the monsters that hide under your bed.)
by tedholzman
Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:15 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: apolaustic
Replies: 5
Views: 12172

... vs. epicurean vs. sybaritic

Apolaustic: Pertaining to taste or enjoyment; agreeable. n. The philosophy of taste. Sir W. Hamilton. (Century dictionary and cyclopedia, via WordNik) Except for one sentence in one novel, I've never seen this word in use. But given that one of its definitions seems to make it a quality of connoisse...
by tedholzman
Mon Mar 26, 2012 12:33 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: HAREBRAINED
Replies: 5
Views: 7740

Yes. I think the whole hare/rabbit confusion might be traced back to MerrieMelodies.
by tedholzman
Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:25 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: apolaustic
Replies: 5
Views: 12172

apolaustic

I saw this one in a Mary Wesley novel.

Apolaustic -- devoted to enjoyment.

Pretty straight from Greek: apolaustikos - to enjoy. First citation in the OED is from 1837.
by tedholzman
Sun Mar 25, 2012 2:37 am
Forum: Good Word Discussion
Topic: HAREBRAINED
Replies: 5
Views: 7740

Hare brained

So, for what it's worth, taxonomy dictators (the same folks who tell us that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable) would say hares and rabbits are different animals. I think the distinction was important to medieval hunters, too. I wonder if harebrainedness isn't related to the March hare phenomenon...
by tedholzman
Sun Sep 19, 2010 3:18 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Rupicoline
Replies: 72
Views: 100316

cryptozoic

And critters that live "under" rocks, the many-legged kind
and others, or would one have to put the prefix "sub-"
on the word?
"Cryptozoic" is a good word for the under-rocks organisms.

-Ted (Cryptobiologist)
by tedholzman
Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:26 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: qua
Replies: 2
Views: 5015

Might throw in "quiddity" to compare with "quality".
by tedholzman
Fri Sep 17, 2010 7:24 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Correption, n.
Replies: 2
Views: 5892

Man, if I were corrept, I would *so* lace it into you!
by tedholzman
Thu Sep 16, 2010 12:28 am
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: Correption, n.
Replies: 2
Views: 5892

Correption, n.

1) Reproof, chiding, esp. with the intent to cause trouble. 2) An effect in Greek prosody - a long vowel turning short when followed by a short vowel (in order to keep the meter, esp. with dactyls) (He's guiltih of correption.) 3) A rapture. Interesting semantics in the etymology: corripere L, to se...
by tedholzman
Thu May 27, 2010 5:56 pm
Forum: Good Word Suggestions
Topic: something new from the depths of time
Replies: 1
Views: 3706

something new from the depths of time

I just ran into "nixtamalize": the process by which corn (maize) is turned masa or hominy. It really looked like it had a romance etymology but it turn out to get here from Aztec via Spanish. The Nahuatl word is allegedlty a compound of nextli "ashes" and tamalli "unformed c...

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