Word Journal

noun •in psychiatry, a form of psychosis in which two people who are intimately associated come to share the same delusions.

also:

• fait accompli・noun・something that has been done and cannot be reversed
• flânerie・noun・leisurely strolling without a fixed destination
• frisson・noun・a sudden, small quiver of fear or emotional excitement; a thrill.

noun • one who buries books by keeping them under lock and key.

adjective • rhymes with “thistle fish” • flustered to the point of incompetence

noun • a time of freedom; a day free from work

noun • a taking hold by the hair

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

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

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.

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

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.

noun • a kind or loving look

noun • a so-called improvement that makes things worse

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

noun • a frivolity; a trifle; frivolous person.

noun  •  a person with no serious aim in life

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

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

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

noun • the ability to endure a boring activity

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

noun • a narration or recitation.

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

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”).