[Last updated 12/03/2020.] | | "[T]here's a trick that nearly every writer uses, of inserting at least one | long, obscure word into each story. This makes the reader think that the man | is very wise and clever. So I have the machine do the same thing. There'll be | a whole stack of long words stored away just for this purpose." | | "Where?" | | "In the 'word-memory' section," he said, epexegetically. | | -- The Great Automatic Grammatizer, Roald Dahl | I love words. The way they look on paper, the way they sound out loud, the way they make your mouth feel when you say them. I am a word collector -- a lexical packrat -- a prisoner of vocabzkaban. New words I find are added here; the list is updated periodically. Some words and phrases repeat because my memory is imperfect. My Knipe List /|/| / | / / / / ( / | (___| ___ ___ ___ ( ___ (___ | )\ ) |\ | )| | )|___) | )| |___ | | / \_/ | \ | / | |__/ |__ |__/ | __/ |__ / | (epexegetically) preterite anatine** künstlerroman panegyric philology protuberant pannikin ambrosial palimpsest* samizdat* expurgate qualia oeillade machinate* sprezzatura** polysyndeton** sartorial* skunkworks rhoticity teratological prosaic L'esprit de l'escalier potemkin pusillanimous puerile pablum laconic teutonic in saecula saeculorum perfidious recondite catatonia kitsch kipple quid accidit edentate circumlocution prolixity desultory crotchety charlatan requisition commandeer effasure, an erasing anchorite fecundity bivouac abscond, deus abscondicus pinochle insouciant profligate ex nihilo fatuous anomie Weltanschauung pulchritude perfervid elegaic gedankenexperiment inflect dragoman prescind tendentious insalubrious motte and bailey dialectic prophylactic prurient acculturation post hoc ergo propter hoc snowclone quo vadis? hobgoblin ontology lazarus taxon hysteresis stochastic polysemy internecine tergiversate hermeneutics staid apotheosis dedesiderata* topos liminal non-diegetic jejeune certiorari bromides acerbity fiduciary annunciation (not "enunciation") homoscedasticity** supraparable neurasthenia motu proprio sacristy moribund testamentary recalcitrant febrile continent (the word has pun potential) epithet periphrases a relingo walk acme epitome doxastic yen (verb) irruption (ecology) pleiotropy cadmus* (to sow a dragon's tooth) infelicitous skerry extirpation allee effect depredation susten(t)ation funk island guillemots & guillemets prow gratuitous weft and warp discomfit bolide belemnite ammonite rudist lacuna codswallop tubercle broil palynologists benthic Signor-Lipps effect lilliput effect decadent gestation perspicuous thing (assembly) (the king is a thing!) tome currency (monetary adjective) vacillate putatively amanuensis inflorescence talmudic lianas austral and boreal gravid scleros- flotsam, jetsam, lagan, derelict* cay linn petroglyph encrustation pteropod sea butterfly ptero- brachio- zircon holo- anthro[po]- anthropocene turducken mesocosm candelabra subsidence obdurate vivarium blast fishing eschaton enfilades salvo mezzanine* scion gamut in loco parentis proscribe dialectic fritz bucolic exordium euphonious mammon execrable extirpate perambulate bulwark idem paean stultifying panacea cashiered diaeresis pareidolia supine mojombo poet shirt loquacious hawala abjured contrite aesthete preclude despot etiology temerity wallaby proteus phenomenon peregrination* barbiturate Caveat emptor proclivity deification duplicitous perspicacity diatribe languor Augean seigniorage Stanford emendations probity entente alacrity vizier legation blanchiment = money-laundering ripostes recalcitrance homesteader fantasists profligate disaffection redound dilatory telos ecclesiastical insular abeyance acolytes geriatric plenipotentiaries abrogated usufruct suzerainty sine que non proclivities propitious plenary indefeasible desultory co-extensive inchoate* draconian debellatio ex injuria jus non oritur pacta sunt servanda etiolated sui generis cenotaph sacral miscegenation vernacular hegemony sobriquet bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube cromulent primogeniture tanistry eremitic ecclesiastical warp and woof paroxysm philology legerdemain equanimity louche subaltern concomitant coparcener peccadillo contingency proselytism plebiscite nemine contradicente balustrade inchoate meum et tuum clemency clientelism bollards** chicanery nadir propinquity inure cockle magisterium erstwhile inchoate macguffin* Damnatio memoriae effluvia fascia anomie pusillanimously sabermetricians contra preferentem consilience** consigning intifada ennui diffidence perfidy complaisance pleonexia meum and tuum timorousness stare decisis perlustration odium theologicum prima facie expediencies preponderance il maestro di color che sanno ad misericordiam heterodox laity (vs. clergy) Socratici viri eo ipso, ipso facto agoraphobia effrontery abrogate monism de novo prima facie certiorari propounded proscribing polemic expounding normative coverture probative provincialism primacy suasion intransigence town-gown contradistinction teleologically subventions paean imprimatur abjuring obloquy internecine obiter dicta inchoate qua anisotropic conniption proscribes epithet nexus pro se dispositive putative passim animus seditious libel obloquy scholium duplicity ex-ante Grand Poobah picayune pettifogging nostradamus alembic naciancenes troupials cetaceans implacable poultice esparto incipient lugubrious seraphic concupiscence corpulence muriatic aqua regia scapular capon caladium daguerreotype repertory per omnia secula seculorum chimerical stentorian pianola brocade temerity soporific prostration encyclical lacerated laudanum implacable organdy charlatan curaçao cassock skein benzoin calabash carbine cornet convalescence inure exequies stropping reprisal amnesty de gustibus non est disputandum intransigence nadir recrudescence St. Elmo’s fire cloistered punctilious messianic indolence bodacious retinue anodyne itinerant soporific acceded convalescence catechism sacristy fecundity colic apotheosis abjection slough junta concordat invidious propounded vacillating hosannas mendacious risible flocculent** floccinaucinihilipilification salvos seigniorage vitiate pusillanimous preponderance dysphoric dispositive milquetoast* praxis quincunx quid pro quo grognard lich ansatz terpsichorean* exculpatory aubade lethean bipartite manticore leitmotif pontifical seigniorage venality turpitude salubrious intercessory pabulum ineluctable Saturnine Supernal Lugubriously Glutinous Dissimulation Deliquesce Coiffed Forbore Rashers Turbot Transmogrified* Prosaic Somnolence Perforce Neurasthenic Verve Tenebrous Imprecations Afreet Tyburn Tree Kipper Fauntleroy Obsolescent Orotund Lackadaisical Abalone Protean Revenant Simulacrum Velour Peccadilloes Philistines Inchoate Imperious Apostate Opobalsam Farangi* Eunuch Henotheist Castigates hapax legomenon Steles Intercession Loth Amphisbaenae Phantasmagoria Sibyl Simurgh Implacable Dismemberment Abrogation Bereavement Sempiternal* Miasmic* Dionysian Implacable Maunderings* Estancia Imprecations Putative Bolas Indigent Cordillera Borsalino Gabardine Primes inter pares Outré Peroration* Discomfiture Claque Budgerigars Bathos Ministrations Gnomic Pierrot Patchouli Simulacrum Rubicund Declivity Juggernaut Tannoy Paidea nobless oblige turpitude sprezzatura** orotund quiddity histrionically Repertory Acquiescent Paristan Depredations Alacrity The Golden Ass Probity Pastiche Argot Jingoistic Balustrade** Lambrakis Mote and beam Imperious Stasis Bowdlerize penitent bremsstrahlung anaphora enthymeme irredentist beleaguered zwanze* — self-deprecating humor in wartime brussels zeugma** (Dunlap's favorite rhetorical device, a figure of speech combining logically different ideas, such as [this is Gaby's example] "the farmers grew potatoes and bored") tant pis incisive excoriated ersatz melismatic* skeuomorph macte virtute* luthier epicurean episcopal ecumenical catholic (etymology) prognostic dialectic rococo prestidigitator Manchurian candidate saccade hirsute** pulchritude apostasy irascible burke* concomitant narthex antiphon catechism horror vacui mutatis mutandis fealty aporia conniption dole valedictory capitonym verlan vizard (vs. wizard) gonzo journalism roman à clef Roskomnadzor chorography ichnology affiance boulted ordure rivage aegis pharaonic lachrymal statists pastern palfrey legerity provender slovenry fetlock avuncular barouche approbation verboten prelate crescive salic lenity nomogram straphanger pelage immiserate lethologica** aptronym distal noctilucent eschatological woolgathering decadence redlining Lethean cerulean venial svengali zugzwang Conchoidal** Lacunae Vitiated Syncretism Neoplatonism Perdition tutelary Bagatelle Incunabulum ecce signum* Audi alteram partem inter alia* encomium falchion triptych itinerant satori suppuration onomancy cratylic epanalepsis usufruct** weltanschauung indicia ablative (grammar, but also matsci) perquisite crux (an unknown word) hamartia retinue epithet cucullus non facit monachum* concupiscible anodyne antanaclasis bedlam atavistic peripatetic peroration hortatory hagiographic imbroglio ekphrasis ensconced asseveration mimesis concomitant obeisance Potrzebie velleity logorrhoea shrive asperity gentian beatification salutary meliorist spruiking etiology posse comitatus non-teleological vacilando* concupiscent saudade* Ad astra per alia porci* perspicuous parturition picaresque bowdlerised dvoeverie, the Slavic idea of believing in Christian devils and pagan house-spirits Canticle demesne Chatham House Rule salutary melismatic noviny - "new" epic songs langue and parole (like fabula and syuzhet) contradictio in adjecto contradictio in terminis crapulous belvedere lugubrious perspicacity ekphrasis gestalt abbozzo** - from Greg Valiant's lecture notes on Good-Turing estimates for unseen words l'homme d'ondoyant et divers vaunted daffy kennings mulct solecism Alford plea nihilartikel / Mountweazel diptych demiurge heresiarch petitio principii ex ungue leonem abbatoir anoraks sitzprobe wandelprobe homily excoriated fronted adverbial incipit estoppel lumpen[proletariat] crinolines effrontery empyrean* linearithmic panopticon quiddity caduceus bitterlich sampling hagiographic roman-a-clef ronin telegenic superannuated vigorish ratiocination mete encomiums Bobolink sacerdotal bosovski - shoes traditionally left slightly unfinished for Russian funerals bullion stigmata aleatory scleronomous and rheonomous Hypostatic Union chiaroscuro (and Roscuro)* sfumato ansatz interregnum apotheosis abeyance sosialpornografi* ekphrasis* peristeronic* apocalypse, eucalyptus, calypso, hell** ossifrage (a cryptic cryptographic connection) Dextrarum iunctio Thaumaturgy Holy Unmercenaries Wonderworking unmercenary kudos, not escudos (from Knuth) Elysian malefit (as the opposite of benefit, e.g. in Tolkien) interstitial skaz Thagomizer spoliation einbahnstrasse augenblick theodicy chanticleer gesamtkunstwerk* The Three Princes of Serendip cerulean** syncretism silviculture pastiche eremetic creosote Homo unius libri ("what does it mean? it doesn't mean anything") Methodenstreit prolegomenon bravura demiurgical gerede - German "high gossip" hermeneutics amateur - amatore propitiatory abstemious hortus conclusus - "walled garden" invidia - the evil eye poiesis corrigenda Guilloché enantiomer racemic* (from the racemic form of tartaric acid, found in grapes) tendril perversion gormandize immanent (not imminent) bal-musette apotropaic pellucid seicento dispositif divinarelli pittorici syntagmatic denegation effaced apposite eucharistic*, when the representation becomes the thing itself, map becomes the territory (like in Lear), the menu becomes the food prosopopoeia caducous dyspepsia circumjacent pudency antinomia blindsight and aphantasia post-festum chrematistics - Aristotle's dual to economics, the art of endless (limitless, purposeless) wealth Auri Sacra Fames - damned thirst for gold (Virgil) chiasmus rondure proleptic ankylosed Index Librorum Prohibitorum pro tanto cutler conspectuity - vision or sight bisson - blind caterpillars of the commonwealth - moochers Interpellation hermeneutic gestalt Dasein Cautelous - wily Tarpeian rock mountebank hegemony Frankenstein veto Idiurus - the flying mouse lagniappe patagium frugivore antediluvian bedlam katzenjammer* (Marx - 18th Brumaire - hangover or cat's wings) blagueurs tenebrism primus/secunda inter pares pastoral (as a noun) attitudinizing Kloveniersdoelen maladroit pendant (as complementary art) pastiche pentimento bravura putti obeisance scumbled ineluctably gutta-percha scapular roiling otherness**, lightness** priapic palatine and pal[p]atine amerciaments saber and cowl, feudal ideology in petto, sub rosa in partibus infidelium, of another faith troglodytes leonine diocese episcopal see (catholicism) cephalophore abjection monobloc chair apperception plenitude causa sui vertiginously edenic tartuffe ephemeris malaphor (Patricia thinks I do this a lot; William Safire, Nixon's speechwriter, says "Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.") Helen Keller: It comes over me that in the last two or three pages of this chapter I have used figures which will turn the laugh against me. Ah, here they are—the mixed metaphors mocking and strutting about before me, pointing to the bull in the china shop assailed by hailstones and the bugbears with pale looks, an unanalyzed species! Let them mock on. The words describe so exactly the atmosphere of jostling, tumbling ideas I live in that I will wink at them for once, and put on a deliberate air to say that my ideas of college have changed. cartouche extenuate eglantine bergomask choropleth servitor intransigent matura malinger proscenium syntagm pleonastic gymnosophists picaresque shivaree improvident aeriform bight concomitant expropriation terrene sublunary baroque vertiginous pungent, poignent, potent gloss* as in glossary Träskofiol* (shoe violin from Dreamers' Circus) prophylactic Alea iacta est enneagram desporting mukbang umwelt Vemödalen** - the fear that everything has already been done Homoousion and Homoiousian ("not one iota of difference") kenning - Norse forged words like ocean = whale road kayfabe, kayfabrication - pre-negotiated collaborative competition, e.g. in professional wrestling spomenik - Yugoslav concrete monuments atelier catena, catenary, concatenate stichic - from military for "aligned," front lines, poetic forms and military patterns procrustean bed dudeen farandole cruciferous (vegetables) ecce homo** granfalloon guignol Rumspringa round robin (see etymology) ratiocinative imp (falconry) jeremiad scatological thiotimoline periodic sentence Stagirite (Aristotle) Menippean satire georgic eclogue synchronicity* (Jung) pronoia seraphic audiate** (from Josh; see also, aphantasia) bedlam (John Ousterhout's description of gc failure) disklavier (Dan Tepfer) atavism** (reversing the game of life) cometary coma amuse-bouche ubi sunt* ("Where are they?") stadialism delectation anodyne faience boanthropy* equinoctial (Bishop's Sestina) myriahedral (like polyhedral, but more?) hysteron proteron adumbrate traduce metalepsis asprezza (vs. ease) kitbash (Kate Kinnear's thesis) dies irae monody aganippe (spring of the muses) gadding siste viator et lege** ("halt, traveler, and read" - on roman roadside tombs) ludology technology shear** - John's word for when different technologies advance at different rates, e.g. disk latency vs. memory size -> paging no longer makes sense voix céleste - organ stops with beat frequencies lomography - cheap camera photography pastiche guinea (has several meanings, for interesting reasons) chthonic** - dear, dear Matisse lissomely (brother gorilla, jake thackray) chrism, censer, chalice anamnesis* - loss of forgetfulness (PKD, how to build a universe that doesn't fall apart two days later) lambent* Dodecanese hierophany - a manifestation of the sacred propitiate bogart (the verb) rondure kulning call pinguid reconnoiter hieratic ogived trimaran cupola moue payola enfilade* materiel (as opposed to personnel) menhaden cantus firmus tegument multiparous apostasy valetudinarian stelliferous quonset somnolent demurs arroyo desperados Californiana adenoidal dross freimarke - stamp hiraeth numen, numina gustatory Brodie (as in jump) cataclysm priistas interregnum jitney flinders beaverboard plowshare, coulter PBX hipshot nicht wahr? Biedermeier oubliette solmization gewehr and büchse Zimmerbild panem et circenses tempus fugit stearin feuilleton epigone maieutics anagnorisis Bowdlerized (in reverse?) poetaster* sodality harquebuses stilettos muscatel steins enervated de bonis non peccadillo absolution* (and ablution) lambent carpaccio Teuthology flagrante delicto zettelkasten deontic avuncular conniption hapax hapax legomenon razzamatazz diaristic pellucid defowlerize** (Nabokov on translating Pushkin, potentially a hapax?) paraphrast (someone who paraphrases) rebarbative reprobate rodomontade* plangent quadrille quiddity poetaster Lothario sylvan* quaff durachkí leas verst, sazhen palaver* cuirassiers lorgnette madrigal missive languor osmotically paronomasia meridian (has many meanings) sententious sallet investment (etymologically related to "vetement" - to invest is to clothe) invigilating fusillade halberdiers stratagem poniard expiatory acedia* praeteritio synoeciosis - composition of contraries in Elizabethan rhetoric ("mirth in funeral, dirge in marriage") cabinet noir hendiadys* (see also, zeugma, syllepsis, hysteron proteron) unctuousness bathos orotundity sententious rodomontade suppliance solus anima rachises** vitiated excursus tendentious bardolatry tercentenary aboulia congeries transpicuous cathectic, cathexis vigorish (Persi's term for the house's edge) aubade parthenogenesis weregild (from Saxo Grammaticus) jantelagen / Jante's law* parimutuel (Don Ylvisaker from UCLA on the CA lottery's "fortune cookie disaster" with repeated numbers) immanent and imminent chiasmus, chiasmic* pneumatology (not what you think, not pneumatics) charnel* supine veridical rapscallion* columbarium incunables malaxage (kneading pottery clay) monotreme (platypus? easter bunny?) midrash paschal abrogate celebrant churlish Lollardy crede, et manducasti ciborium, paten, corporale, maniple anamnesis* new historicism* (I think I'd make a good new historicist) dryad teleuton*, envoi, tornada salal avuncular dyadic metempiric - beyond experience aril* - the part of a pomegranate seed that's not the seed esemplastic** - M finds the best word for Dreamers' Circus. Coleridge comes to mind: for calling imagination the "esemplastic power" and for calling poetry the "best words in the best order." I think also about the lasagna. drupelet - like an aril saltation** - to leap, as in the BNP(?), another M word note: stiny uses "saltation" in relation to "gestalt" (in the star-chevron-triangle section); oddly, the etymologies give the words opposite "meanings." i wonder further about "stellation": are *stel- and *ster- the same? alectryon (chicken god) askesis atopy (unclassifiability, especially in relation to love) lover (okay, okay, we all know this word - but here is Roland Barthes' definition: "the one who waits") limerence asepsis nasturtiums jacaranda divagate szeretlek - "first-person singular indicative present second-person object definite of szeret" - that is, "I love you" - Hungarian holophrase phatic satori doxa and episteme merycism loquela - the twiddling of the wound (metaphorically) affective - "Like a bad concert hall, affective space contains dead spots where the sound fails to circulate. --The perfect interlocutor, the friend, is he not the one who constructs around you the greatest possible resonance? Cannot friendship be defined as a space with total sonority?" (see also: Nelle Fertig's poem) kigo - season-word in a haiku aubade exiguous hypostases sesquipedalian tapinosis thaumasmus topothesia astrothesia dendrographia* - these are all from silva rhetoricae on rhetoric.byu.edu kerf** - matthew says this is the bit that vaporizes when you laser cut something (can we apply "kerf" to the scheduling fragmentation problem? 10-minute breaks vaporize into temporal kerf!) ipseity* - selfhood syncope - losing consciousness because of low blood pressure, OR dropping syllables from a word (e.g. "probably") tergiversate geminate falutin (as in high-) dissimulation diaphanous** - M uses this to describe my past - and indeed it is - even and especially to myself - gossamer soppressata terete**, stout, glabrous**, and sometimes slightly reddish - M finds a description of bloodroot teleoanticipation* - related to pacing, e.g. with athletes - but also, mykel's green bananas from trader joe's? mescal taarof* introrse ligulate cliché - "a poem that won" - this definition is due to craig arnold (who speaks about the goodness in bad love poetry in an interview with jeremy richards) monocoque bàofùxìng áoyè - "revenge bedtime procrastination" kolaveri aphonia and aphasia chinotto ontic - (as opposed to antic, when describing dispositions - from M, of course) murmuration - from siken's poem