Today's word comes from the newest book on my wishlist, "Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages" by Ammon Shea.
acnestis (n.) The area of an animal's skin where it cannot reach to scratch itself.
From the Greek, using the negative prefix /a/, it literally means "unscratched." Consider yourself that much more enlightened for having clicked your way here
The other words in this series can always be found here.
Well, I am guilty of profound cunctation in my philological series, so to make up for it, here's a doozy:
deipnosophist \dyp-NOS-uh-fist\ (n.): One who is skilled in table talk.
At the age of six his future as a deipnosophist seemed certain. Guzzling filched apples he loved to prattle. Hogging the pie he invariably piped up and rattled on.Deipnosophist comes from the title of a work written by the Greek Athenaeus in about 228 AD, Deipnosophistai, in which a number of wise men sit at a dinner table and discuss a wide range of topics. It is derived from deipnon (dinner) + sophistes (a wise or clever man).
- Ellis Sharp, 'The Bloating of Nellcock
...and we're back.
I've been laggardly in updating the blog, so here's a new word (courtesy of T) to keep you chomping:
resistentialism (n.)
Conceived in satirical reference to existentialism, Paul Jennings posited the the belief that inanimate objects have a natural antipathy toward human beings. (Terry Pratchett refers to this in Discworld as "malignity.")
Lost your keys? It's not a memory problem. Closed the car door on your hand? Don't worry about your coordination. THINGS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!
A long standing problem in the scientific community, researchers at the Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Research in Melbourne, Australia sought to conclusively establish, "Where have all the bloody teaspoons gone?"
May all your days be minimally resistential,
PH
The other words in this series can always be found here.
I'm introducing a new feature today that I hope will improve your vocabulary and/or social mobility & life-long financial security. Every once in a while, I will present a word I find interesting, one you probably hadn't known before, but can now use with abandon in small-talk, doctoral dissertations, amortization calculations, marriage proposals, challenges to duel, and pet care. Who knows how far you can go if you introduce these incredible words into your life.
So without further ado, the first word:
arachibutyrophobia (n.) - the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth
Sufferers of this devastating condition can be helped and often look to the most famous recovered arachibutyrophobe, George Washington Carver, for inspiration.
This inaugural post is dedicated in honor of my friend Daniyel's recent dissertation abstract submission and proposal acceptance.
The other words in this series can always be found here.
