I like words. I know a fair few of them. I want to know more. What are your favorite esoteric words?
Epeolatry: The worship of words.
One that seems to be new to a lot of people: sardonic or sardonism. It is kind of like sarcasm or facetiousness, but darker. The definition is grimfully mocking.
“I was just being sarcastic. Don’t be so defensive and serious.”
“I was being sardonic. Did you take offense to that? Good.”
Callipygian - to have a nice ass.
Fantastic!
I don’t care for esoterism but I love words and I keep a journal where I note any new words I learn, nice proverbs and citations and anything I find pretty. It is basically my personnal dictionary.
One of my last entries was : lixivifaction.Sure, there are many great words regardless of popularity, but esoteric one are more likely to be new to me!
That one doesn’t turn up in my DDG search, could you elaborate?
I recently learned ‘bucolic’ - relating to or typical of rural life. It’s based on the greek word for shepherd.
I read it in a review of the fantastic BBC show ‘The Derectorists’ and found it very fitting.
Encumbered, obsequious, defenestration, solastalgia
Yesterday I was trying to think of the difference between audacious and bodacious and I could really use some help with that.
One is about boobs and one is about confidence.
There’s probably some overlap.
I just thought of one that I’ve never had cause to use in conversation: “philomot,” meaning “having the color of a dead leaf.”
Palimpsest - it’s like a document that’s been re-used but still shows some of the previous words underneath. Or a bit like a whiteboard that has ‘burnt-in’ marker showing after being erased.
I like it! Thanks!
Source: Merriam-Webster https://share.google/8S38DanhSZubSlMdX
Toxicognath
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxicognath
Without the pesky google tracker
Sorry, I’m not very tech savvy.
Not a problem. Google is shitty for this, they didn’t disclaim that their “share” button now re-route your link into their servers so they can leverage meta-data out of it.
It’s back to copy/paste url in your browser because google enshittify your share button. Not your fault
Try these on for size:
Epicaricacy - Schadenfreude, but sounds fancier
Coprophagous - shit eating. As in: “A coprophagous grin”
Contra intuitive (for things that do not work like it would seem logical for you)
Perspicacious (~sharp senses. English is a second language for me, so I didn’t know that one. Found it in a book, loved it)
You know, I know the word “perspicacious” in that I could see it in a body of literature and not question or be confused by it, but I actually couldn’t have told you what it means before now. Thank you for the edification.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Used to be known by pretty much every kid in the US.
Was The Sound of Music only popular in the US? I’d assumed it was also popular in Europe given the setting.
Also, this word was an exercise in the gifted classes I got put in in elementary school. The idea was to try to spell it without looking it up.
I don’t know about The Sound of Music (I’ve only seen clips) but supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was popularized here (and maybe elsewhere) by Mary Poppins.
Am I mixing up the movies maybe? It’s quite early here so my brain may not be working at 100%.
I mix those two movies up, too, so you’re at least not alone! They’re both older movies about awesome/magical ladies taking care of kids, if I remember correctly, with lots of music and singing. So I get it.
I haven’t seen it until I was 28. It’s not very popular in Europe, especially DACh, because it’s apologetic for Austrians, showing them as victims of the Nazis, rather then enthusiasts.
It is said to be a propaganda piece made for that but idk
Contemporaneously. (At precisely the same time).
I always loved this one! Good choice.
- chargé d’affaires
- yeet
