Obscure and Obselete Words

[songbird36]

Did you know about these? Any others we can think of? More importantly can we find *uses* for these words on the forum :lol:

1. Parnel - A priest's mistress
2. Eugeria - Normal and happy old age
3. Groak - To watch people silently while they are eating, hoping they will ask you to join them
4. Lapling - Someone who enjoys resting in women's laps
5. Resistentialism - Seemingly spiteful behaviour manifested by inanimate objects
6. Oniochalasia - "Retail Therapy"
7. Libberwort - Food or drink that makes someone idle or stupid, "junk food"
8. Eyeservice - Work done only when the boss is watching
9. Pilgarlic - A bald head that looks like peeled garlic
10. Dibble - To drink like a duck, lifting the head after each sip

[Shai Gar]

11. Barbarian - greek word meaning foreigner
12. Terrorist - The use of the threat of force or violence, in this case extreme violence, to obtain political ends through intimidation and fear.
13. abacinate - To blind by putting a hot copper basin near someone's eyes
14. abderian - given to incessant or idiotic laughter
15. abecedarian - A person who is learning the alphabet


http://www.islandnet.com/~egbird/dict/dict.htm

and screw finding uses for them in the forums, i am going to memorise them and find uses for them in highschool

[Shai Gar]

http://phrontistery.info/

[Lee]

10. Dibble - To drink like a duck, lifting the head after each sip

I have heard of this one, you could have made up the others for all I know.

16. Noggin - A unit of liquid, equal to a quarter of a pint.

[Shai Gar]

acrasial adj 1851 -1851
ill-regulated; ill-tempered
The acrasial judge was known for her rants against younger lawyers.
addecimate v 1612 -1755
to tithe
They addecimated regularly but were not otherwise known for their charity.
adimpleate v 1657 -1657
to fill up
The new technique adimpleates the cans with milk through injection.
adnascentia npl 1706 -1731
root-like branches that sprout into the earth from a plant's stem
Every winter, the adnascentia would shift around, destroying the lawn's even texture.
aeipathy n 1847 -1853
continued passion; an unyielding disease
Her aeipathy for stamp collecting bordered at times on the pathological.
affictitious adj 1656 -1656
feigned; counterfeit
The forger was caught despite his masterfully-crafted affictitious signatures.
affuage n 1753 -1847
right to cut wood in a forest for family fire
The family's right of affuage ensured they would have enough wood for winter.
agonarch n 1656 -1656
judge of a contest or activity
Our competition will require six agonarchs to ensure fairness.
agonyclite n 1710 -1710
member of a heretical sect that stood rather than kneeled while praying
Agonyclites must have had hardy feet to endure their services.
airgonaut n 1784 -1784
one who journeys through the air
Balloonists, skydivers and other airgonauts are all a little mad, if you ask me.
alabandical adj 1656 -1775
barbarous; stupefied from drink
His behaviour after the party was positively alabandical.
albedineity n 1652 -1652
whiteness
The monotonous albedineity of the snow-covered field was blinding.
alogotrophy n 1753 -1853
excessive nutrition of part of body resulting in deformity
Was he born with that huge head, or is it the result of alogotrophy?
amandation n 1656 -1755
act of sending away or dismissing
His rude amandation of his guests earned him a reputation for curtness.
amarulence n 1731 -1755
bitterness; spite
After losing her job to a less qualified man, she was full of amarulence.
amorevolous adj 1670 -1670
affectionate; loving
Our father, though amorevolous, could be a strict taskmaster at times.
antipelargy n 1656 -1731
reciprocal or mutual kindness; love and care of children for their parents
Having never received any antipelargy, they wrote their daughter out of the will.
apanthropinization n 1880 -1880
withdrawal from human concerns or the human world
His life as a hermit in the woods was characterized by apanthropinization.
aporrhoea n 1646 -1880
a bodily emanation; an effluvium
The evening's revelries were followed by an unfortunate episode of aporrhoea.
aquabib n 1731 -1883
water-drinker
I was never much of an aquabib, and always preferred harder libations.
archigrapher n 1656 -1656
principal or head secretary or clerk
The archigrapher efficiently designated transcription duties to her underlings.
aretaloger n 1623 -1656
braggart; one who boasts about his own accomplishments
While he seemed nice at first, he turned out to be a loudmouthed aretaloger.
artigrapher n 1753 -1753
writer or composer of a grammar; a grammarian
Today's prescriptivists are no better than the artigraphers of the Renaissance.
ascoliasm n 1706 -1753
boys' game of beating each other with gloves or leather while hopping
If you think bullies are bad today, look at brutal games of the past like ascoliasm.
assectation n 1656 -1656
act of following after something else
She stood in the on-deck circle, her assectation virtually guaranteed.
austerulous adj 1731 -1731
somewhat or slightly harsh
The austerulous monks were rarely lenient with their pupils.
autexousious adj 1678 -1678
exercising or possessing free will
If we are truly autexousious, then why do we so often feel powerless?
auturgy n 1651 -1656
self-action; independent activity
The film director's legendary auturgy frustrated editors and producers alike.
avunculize v 1662 -1662
to act as an uncle; to behave like an uncle
I often avunculize to my younger friends, which no doubt annoys them.
bajulate v 1613 -1662
to bear a heavy burden
Their Sherpa aides were vexed by the demand that they bajulate as well as guide.
bimarian adj 1731 -1731
pertaining to two seas
Some think that America needs to improve its bimarian naval defenses.
binoternary adj 1817 -1817
combining binary and trinary aspects
The dots on the '6' face of a die are arranged in a binoternary fashion.
blateration n 1656 -1864
chatter; babbling
I've had just about enough of your garrulous blateration, you clod!
bonifate adj 1656 -1656
lucky; fortunate
The gambler was too bonifate, and attracted the casino manager's attention.
boreism n 1833 -1839
behaviour of a boring person
The professor, while brilliant, was afflicted by boreism when lecturing.
boscaresque adj 1734 -1734
picturesque; scenically wooded
Despite northern England's industrial pollution, parts of it remain boscaresque.
brabeum n 1675 -1675
reward or prize
Without some brabeum, the students will have no incentive to work harder.
brephophagist n 1731 -1875
one who eats babies
The character Fat Bastard is a disgustingly obese Scottish brephophagist.
brochity n 1623 -1678
projecting or crooked quality of teeth
His parents later regretted that they did not correct his brochity in his youth.
bubulcitate v 1623 -1678
to act as a cowherd; to cry like a cowherd
When their cat went missing, they were on the street bubulcitating for weeks.
buccellation n 1657 -1731
act of dividing into small morsels
The buccellation and apportionment of their rations was the subject of heated argument.
bumposopher n 1834 -1886
one learned in bumps; a phrenologist
Craniology has progressed greatly since the days of bumposophers.
cacatory adj 1684 -1753
accompanied by loose bowels
For the diners, the effects of the chicken cacciatore, alas, were cacatory.
cacozealous adj 1656 -1696
imitating badly; poorly affected
Her cacozealous attempt at mimicking her boss bordered on being offensive.
cagastric adj 1662 -1753
of diseases, originating under an ill star
We no longer believe in cagastric causes for illness and deformity.
cameranious adj 1791 -1791
of or relating to a chamber
The social gathering benefited from the cozy, cameranious setting.
canitude n 1656 -1742
greyness; hoariness; whiteness
The first snowfall of the year gave the field a pleasant canitude.
caprizant adj 1730 -1736
of the pulse, uneven or irregular
While he hadn't had a full-blown heart attack, his pulse was very caprizant.
casitive adj 1652 -1652
having grammatical cases
The casitive nature of Finnish and Hungarian makes them difficult to learn.
castaldy n 1623 -1800
stewardship
His castaldy over the manor was dependent on his good relations with the lord's sons.
cecograph n 1851 -1874
writing device for the blind
The development of computers has made the cecograph entirely obsolete.
celeberrimous adj 1768 -1768
very or most highly celebrated
Her celeberrimous accomplishments were lauded by her colleagues.
celeripedean adj 1623 -1656
swift-footed
The most celeripedean of the Greek deities was Hermes.
cestuan adj 1711 -1711
of or pertaining to a boxer's gloves or cesti
No cestuan improvements can negate the damage of such blows to the head.
chermadic adj 1842 -1842
of a heavy weight used as a projectile
Wile E. Coyote continues to be crushed by his own chermadic snares.
chronanagram n 1613 -1882
an anagram of a chronogram
Jacobites used chronanagrams to cryptically express support for their cause.
cibosity n 1656 -1656
store of food; plenty of food supplies
The cibosities of those paranoid about Y2K are still rotting in their cellars.
circuland n 1821 -1821
that which is to be circulated
Here we have the circuland, as opposed to our internal earnings report.
circumbilivagination n 1611 -1693
going around in a circular motion; circumambulation
She saw many quaint seaside towns in her circumbilivagination of England.
citharize v 1623 -1692
to play the harp
If you plan to citharize, prepare to build up calluses on your fingers.
cloakatively adv 1674 -1674
superficially
These reforms have only cloakatively made the situation better for the poor.
coherentific adj 1834 -1834
causing to become coherent; causing cohesion
Her speech was the coherentific factor behind the jury's consensus verdict.
colaphize v 1450 -1656
to beat or buffet
His lawyer claimed that police had colaphized him, which confused the judge.
commendaces npl 1611 -1658
funeral orations; prayers for the dead
At his funeral, his brother delivered a set of exquisite commendaces.
coquinate v 1656 -1658
to behave as a cook
Martha may seem to be able to coquinate, but her actions are highly scripted.
cosmogyral adj 1808 -1808
whirling round the universe
The great cosmogyral peregrinations of galaxies follow simple physical laws.
crassulent adj 1656 -1656
very fat; grossly obese
While some point to Brando's crassulent state, others focus on his acting.
crebrity n 1656 -1740
frequency; period between two occurrences
Old Faithful is a natural clock, and its invariant crebrity continues to amaze.
crocitation n 1623 -1656
croaking; cawing
The crocitation of the gulls meant that I got no sleep last night.
cynicocratical adj 1881 -1881
pertaining to rule by cynics
When people mistrust government, our leaders become cynicocratical.
deartuate v 1623 -1653
to dismember
He cunningly hoped that if he deartuated the body, he could hide it in the hole.
decutient adj 1656 -1656
shaking down; beating down
Their decutient technique for getting apples from trees annoyed the farmer.
defedate v 1669 -1669
to defile; to pollute
The toxic chemicals continue to defedate our town's water supply.
desarcinate v 1656 -1736
to unload; to unburden
She haughtily ordered her butler to desarcinate her baggage from the car.
devalgate adj 1851 -1883
bow-legged
The devalgate cowboy watched his old smell-hound crawl between his legs.
dicaearchy n 1656 -1658
just government
While we dream of living in a dicaearchy, in truth, we're governed by dicks.
diffibulate v 1656 -1656
to unbutton; to unbuckle
He found it difficult to diffibulate her blouse using only one hand.
dignorate v 1623 -1656
to mark or brand an animal
He was glad he had dignorated his horse, or else he couldn't have claimed it.
diloricate v 1623 -1656
to rip open a sewn piece of clothing
She deloricated his silk shirts so she could use them as dishrags.
dipsopathy n 1883 -1883
medical treatment involving abstinence from liquids
The new antibiotics he was taking required him to practice strict dipsopathy.
diribitory n 1656 -1656
place where pay is distributed to soldiers
Directly deposited salaries for soldiers obviate the need for diribitories.
divinipotent adj 1656 -1727
having strong divinatory powers
While the TV psychic claims to be divinipotent, he's clearly a charlatan.
dodrantal adj 1656 -1883
of nine inches in length
The male stripper's dodrantal instrument impressed the ladies greatly.
drollic adj 1743 -1743
of or pertaining to puppet shows
Computer graphics are rapidly replacing the drollic puppet-shows of years ago.
dromograph n 1883 -1885
instrument for measuring velocity of blood flow
The dromograph readings from his elderly patient alarmed the doctor.
ducenarious adj 1656 -1656
pertaining to two hundred
The ducenarious diversion of the bicentennial brought the countrymen together.
ebaptization n 1659 -1659
declaring that someone has not been properly baptized
They feared the priest's heterodoxy would lead to charges of ebaptization.
ecstasiate v 1823 -1957
to go into an ecstasy; to cause to become ecstatic
The arrival of the boy-band ecstasiated the pre-teen throng.
ectylotic adj 1736 -1864
removing warts or calluses
Use this ectylotic bandage on your finger and you'll be cured in a week or two.
egrote v 1721 -1775
to feign an illness
He was a master of egroting in order to find more time to study for tests.
eicastic adj 1669 -1669
imitative
The comedian's wit is limited to his considerable eicastic abilities.
ejurate v 1622 -1800
to renounce; to abjure
I ejurate this entire organization and its principles, which I now see to be corrupt.
embaphium n 1715 -1884
small vessel for measuring or serving medicine
She employed an embaphium to ensure the correct dose was given.
embolimaeal adj 1677 -1796
intercalary; inserted into the calendar
The addition of embolimaeal days caused calendrical confusion in the past.
epalpebrate adj 1884 -1884
lacking eyebrows
If you don't stop plucking, soon you'll be epalpabrate!
ephydriad n 1823 -1823
water-nymph
The synchronized swimmers were like ephydriads, full of natural grace.
essomenic adj 1771 -1771
showing things as they will be in the future
The essomenic properties of crystal balls are very much in dispute.
eternitarian n 1746 -1746
one who believes in the eternity of the soul
Though she held to no particular faith, she remained a hopeful eternitarian.
eveniency n 1656 -1656
coming to pass
His mother thought that the eveniency of her son's marriage was inevitable.
excutient adj 1730 -1775
shaking off
The excutient dog showered the topless sunbathers, causing them to rise in alarm.
exipotic adj 1823 -1884
purgative; cleansing the body of illness
While the medicine was exipotic to his body, it made a mess of his bathroom.

[songbird36]

I am groaking at my lapling friend as he eats libberwort with resistentialist utensils...

[Shai Gar]

frankly my dear .... :)

[kuranes]

"Kittle-Pitchering" - Antique phrase used to describe subtle baiting that occurs when someone is telling a boring account, or for other reasons; when the object is to derail a speaker's aplomb. It consists of asking the speaker seemingly innocuous questions that have no bearing on the point of the anecdote or report. Questioning trivial aspects. "What day did you say that happened? Are you sure" etc. Sometimes older people kittle pitcher themselves, derailing their own story with asides that no one but them cares about. "It was back in '87 that it happened . . .or was it '88?" etc.

[jimkopelli]

Futtock.
It's a part of a boat's keel... and it sounds like something else, so you can claim discussion of nautical engineering... I can use resistentialism, though.

[songbird36]

Oh wonderful guys.

Isn't the English language a rare and beautiful thing?

Futtock..hehe what a great word.

[jimkopelli]

I thought you'd like that one.

Victorian English has a great selection of interesting euphemisms... on all sorts of things they were famous for not talking about.

[songbird36]

I thought you'd like that one.

Victorian English has a great selection of interesting euphemisms... on all sorts of things they were famous for not talking about.

Ah such as that thing in respect of which women were expected to "close their eyes and think of England"?

Euphemistically termed "relations" or "marital relations".

[jimkopelli]

Tittery-whoppet.
Tuppenny-upright.
Etc...

[CoHo]

Daggle-Tail
A woman whose garments are dirtied by being trailed over wet ground, so by extension an untidy woman, a slut or slattern

Dimpse, Cockshut
The dimming of daylight, twilight.

Boodle
A fake bankroll

If you are interested there are two good books for this:
The Slang of Sin (Very interesting)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0877796270/qid=1109735863/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-8492745-4892606
And
Poplollies And Bellibones A Celebration of Lost Words
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140051902/qid=1109735850/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8492745-4892606?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[songbird36]

Thanks chaps - a few more gems for my obfuscation armoury...

[Heather Harrison]

The following book is a wonderful source of obsolete and funny words:

Kinney, Arthur F., ed. "Rogues, Vagabonds, & Sturdy Beggars," Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1990.

It is a compilation of pamphlets written during the late 1500's and early 1600's describing the various types of common criminals and the peculiar language that they used.

Here are some examples:

Abraham Man. A conman who pretends to be mad.

Jarkman. A literate man who makes counterfeit documents.

Dummerer. A man (usually a Welshman) who pretends to be unable to speak, and even pretends not to have a tongue, for the purpose of begging money.

Kinchin Mort. A young girl of the criminal class.

Kinchin Co. A young boy of the criminal class.

Counterfeit Crank. A person who fakes the "falling sickness".

Prigger of Prancers. A horse thief.

There is a lot more in this book - this is just a sample. If you like funny old words, I recommend it.

Heather Harrison

[Edmond Zedo]

Obselete

[Pyrimadine]

Here are some examples:
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat a stomach.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer
the door in your nightgown.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run
over by a steamroller
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist
immediately before he examines you.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish
expressions.
Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die your Soul goes up on
the roof and gets stuck there.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts

[Shai Gar]

no. most of those "meanings" are simply examples of not using the correct words.

[songbird36]

Obselete

I started this thread late at night and pretty soon realized I'd spelt "obsolete" wrong but for some reason this damned forum wouldn't let me edit the thread title..

[kuranes]

Here are some examples:
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat a stomach.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer
the door in your nightgown.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run
over by a steamroller
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist
immediately before he examines you.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish
expressions.
Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die your Soul goes up on
the roof and gets stuck there.
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts

This was great! I love this kind of thing.

K

[ppc]

Faith - Christian word for fact.