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Sesquipedalia: What’s Your Favorite Big Word?
I have always loved words. The bigger or more abstruse or obsolete, the better they are. When I was perhaps twelve, I discovered a wonderful word: Sinistrorotatory. What’s it mean? Same as widdershins. Wait, you don’t know that one either? Lævorotatory. Still not helping? Well, let’s break it apart.
Rotatory means spinning. Sinistro comes from the Latin word for left, sinister (Hi, @randywebster!). So that means it is rotating to the left, or counter-clockwise or anti-clockwise. Yes, there are five fun terms for the same thing. I love the English language. Do you?
What are some of your favorite word discoveries? Know any good long ones you might help add to our vocabularies?
Published in Group Writing
You too? I might have even had more than one.
I just made a note to remember these two words.
It usually doesn’t take.
Is there a word for that?
Now that I think about it, though it’s not particularly big, subterfuge. It was a regular term in a game we were playing and one of the other players said “The b is silent, like in subtle!” I didn’t actually know whether it was or not, so I couldn’t argue at the time. Later on, I happened to look it up and learned it has the same origin as subterranean, so I was right all along. I wish I had known that at the time, but you can’t have everything.
Being unable to correct snoots? I don’t think so.
@misthiocracy, I think we need a new word coined here.
I’m not taking the bait.
You must have learned a few good, long words in law school.
They also learn not too use them when they can’t bill by the minute.
Penultimate
Yes! This is one I have used and run into problems with.
I had a boss who used this all the time. He sounded smart, so I started to use it, too.
Just so long as you don’t say, “Niggardly.”
Why, yes I have.
My knowledge of cutlery terminology comes from a youth misspent on knife company literature. Flippin’ Lynn Thompson…
Goodness, @arahant, you’re such a logophile.
I bought a couple of books of sailing terms to help me through them.
I bought the Aubrey-Maturin cookbook, too.
Well, it was 45 years ago. I know what one of Epstein’s favorite words means: riparian.
By the side of a river. It’s a good word. Also could be used with certain types of navies, although these days folks often use colors: blue-water navy, green-water navy, and brown-water navy.
Perhaps not, seems the honor belongs to screeched.
Eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious
I was Master at Arms for my Toastmasters club in college, and as such was required to provide the word of the day. The speakers that day were required to work the word into their speeches.
So, what does it mean and what language is it in?
It’s english of course. It means very good or fine and is usually used in the description of comestibles.
ratiocination
insouciant
Green-water navy, eh? Do they mean that littorally? (yuk-yuk)
*GROANNNN*
Defenestration. Blackguard. Apogee. Perigee.
Oh, just wait till I get back from chimera hunting in my “German word of the day” archives….
The Germans are quite capable with long words, although there are a few others that are even worse.
Yes they are. (Germans and their long words.) I was in Salzburg for a month last year and took this photo of a sign at the end of my street. As I understand it, it roughly means “Ride your bicycle at the same speed you walk.”)(Imagine having a single word that conveys all that!)