Sunday morning special Vocabulary input from Mindworkzz...Start the musings people !!!! 1. Gladiolus, 1925. The word (a type of flower) is notable not due to its complexity, but because it was the first-ever winning word. 2. Albumen, 1928. The white part of an egg. 3. Promiscuous, 1937. I just like the idea of an eight-year-old asking the judges to use it in a sentence. 4. Crustaceology, 1955. The study of crustaceans, of course. Doesnt it roll off of the tongue nicely? 5. Syllepsis, 1958. This is a complicated definition: A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word. Say what? How about an example from Dorothy Parker: Its a small apartment. Ive barely enough room to lay my hat and a few friends. Theres also the Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Woman: She blew my nose and then she blew my mind. 6. Smaragdine, 1961. Of or pertaining to emeralds, or having the color of emeralds. What beautiful smaragdine eyes you have. 7. Esquamulose, 1962. Not covered in scales or scale-like objects. Can we bring this one back? Hey, Jessie. Youre looking especially esquamulose today. 8. Maculature, 1979. Paper waste and printed materials not intended for reading, AKA junk mail. You might consider those five Oriental Trading catalogs you never signed up for maculature. 9. Elucubrate, 1980. To produce by long and intensive effort, especially in reference to literary work. 10. Odontalgia, 1986. The next time you have a sore tooth, impress your dentist by telling him youre suffering from odontalgia. Its just a fancy word for toothache. 11. Antediluvian, 1994. Ancient, antiquated or supremely dated. Have a friend whos hitting a milestone birthday soon? Up the ante by referring to them as antediluvian instead of the totally overdone over the hill. 12. Vivisepulture, 1996. The act of burying someone alive. Famous people terrified of being buried alive (also known as taphephobia, another great spelling word): Hans Christian Andersen, George Washington and Frederic Chopin. 13. Euonym, 1997. A name well suited to a person, place or thing. 14. Chiaroscurist, 1998. Chiaroscuro is a style of monochromatic shading used in art, but I like it because it makes me think of Trogdor. 15. Succedaneum, 2001. A substitute or replacement for something else, especially in reference to medicine. 16. Prospicience, 2002. Foresight. 17. Pococurante, 2003. Apathetic or indifferent. Even though youre not studying for the SATs anymore, maybe you should be a little less pococurante about expanding your vocabulary.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 23:56:02 +0000
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