Nov 7, 2011

kassiber

noun • a letter smuggled out of jail, a secret coded message.

this german loanword is derived from the yiddish word kessaw meaning “written.”

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 89 notes

Oct 6, 2011

aread (verb) • to divine the meaning of obscure words, interpret a dream, or solve a riddle or enigma.

serendipitist (noun) • a person with an aptitude for making lucky discoveries by accident.

ululate (verb) • to howl or wail; to lament loudly.

these are some of the unusual words that make a cameo in the first chapter of a novel-length book that i wrote.

Posted by ragbag 173 notes

Sep 23, 2011

over at the ragbag (a component of the internet) i recently wrapped up my word summer series. i have cross-posted a few of these here throughout the summer but because of trust issues, i have not posted all of them…until…now…so…here…you…go…

  1. crookle · to coo as a pigeon
  2. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis · a factitious word alleged to mean ‘a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust’ but ocurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word
  3. gossipry · a body of gossips
  4. pulvil · perfumed powder for powdering the wig
  5. enatation · an escape by swimming
  6. lakke · one hundred thousand items, especially coins
  7. ben trovato · of a story: appropriate even if untrue
  8. gongoozler · a person who stares at anything for a long time
  9. belgard · a kind or loving look
  10. palpebrous · having large eyebrows
  11. tyromancy · divination by means of cheese
  12. polydoggery · the keeping of a number of dogs

Posted by ragbag 160 notes

Sep 7, 2011

smogger

noun • the road-sign language of hobos

the pictographic language has a rich history which is said to have been introduced into england in the time of henry viii. here is a great resource for many of these long-lost signs.
 

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 89 notes

Aug 15, 2011

belgard

noun • a kind or loving look

(Source: ragbag, via astrophysics)

Posted by ragbag 243 notes

Aug 11, 2011

schlimmbesserung

noun • a so-called improvement that makes things worse

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 338 notes tages / 3d movies / botox

Jun 9, 2011
tagavaka

noun • a boat that has purposely sailed away, for love, adventure, or suicide

tagavaka is a word from the tokelauan lanugauge. this article from gentlemen’s quarterly magazine explains:

Some-times boats are blown off course; there’s even a Tokelauan word for this: lelea. It’s theorized that the very existence of people on the island—it has been inhabited for a thousand years—is because a Polynesian canoe drifted off course. But there is also another, more complicated Tokelauan word: tagavaka. This applies to boats that have purposely sailed away—for love, adventure, or suicide. These days, Tokelauans commit suicide by driving into the open ocean until the gas runs out.

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 313 notes
Jun 8, 2011

fribble

verb • /frĭbˈəl/ • to waste; to fritter (something) away.

noun • a frivolity; a trifle; frivolous person.

Posted by eush 115 notes

May 25, 2011

frivoller

noun  •  a person with no serious aim in life

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 324 notes

Apr 15, 2011

zaftig/zoftig

adjective • (US) voluptuous, well-proportioned (to describe a woman)

From Yiddish זאַפֿטיק (zaftik, “juicy, fat”), from German saftig “juicy”.

Posted by kbkarma 128 notes

Apr 13, 2011

inky:

Stephen Fry on language: kinetic typography edition.

(via inky)

Posted by kbkarma 280 notes

Apr 1, 2011

blatherskite

noun • /’blaT͟Hərˌskīt/ • 1) a babbling, foolish person; a person who talks nonsense at great length. 2) foolish talk, nonsense.

Posted by eush 248 notes

Mar 30, 2011

sitzfleisch

noun • the ability to endure a boring activity

from German sitzen ‘to sit’ and fleisch ‘flesh’

(Source: ragbag)

Posted by ragbag 408 notes

Mar 22, 2011

diegesis

noun • a narration or recitation.

From Ancient Greek διήγησις (diegesis, “narration”), from διηγέομαι (diegeomai, “(I) narrate”).

(Source: en.wiktionary.org)

Posted by kbkarma 60 notes tages / greek

prolepsis

noun • IPA: /pɹoʊˈlɛpsɪs/ • 1) the assignment of something to a period of time that precedes it (rhetoric). 2) the anticipation of an objection to an argument (logic). 3) a construction that consists of placing an element in a syntactic unit before that to which it would logically correspond (grammar, rhetoric). 4) a so-called “preconception”, ie a pre-theoretical notion which can lead to try knowledge of the world (philosophy). 5) growth in which lateral branches develop from a lateral meristem, after the formation of a bud or following a period of dormancy, when the lateral meristem is split from a terminal meristem (botany)

From Latin prolepsis, in turn from Ancient Greek πρόληψις (prolepsis, “preconception, anticipation”), from the verb προλαμβάνω (prolambano, “(I) take beforehand, anticipate”), itself from προ- (pro, “before”) and λαμβάνω (lambano, “(I) take”).

(Source: en.wiktionary.org)

Posted by kbkarma 53 notes tages / greek / latin