Discussion Forum

Funny,rare,obscure or uncommon words.

2008-04-01T12:04:42-08:00

Have you read (or said) any or many rare,uncommon,antiquated or unusual words?

PROCLIVITY

2009-07-05T20:33:14-08:00

Discuss proclivity here.

Proclivity

noun

1) Inclination, bent; natural disposition or propensity; tendency.

2) Readiness; facility or quickness of learning.

[Latin proclivitas, from proclivis = proclive (q.v.).]

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Dibs

2009-07-03T13:34:31-08:00

The Right or Claim on something.
from: Dibstones: a childrens’ game>
e.g. Department Heads were given dibs on the cushy jobs.

MAVERICK

2009-07-03T21:28:22-08:00

Discuss maverick here.

Maverick

noun

An unbranded yearling steer or heifer; especially one that is unclaimed or wild.

[From name of a Texas cattle owner who neglected to brand his cattle.]

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PORTMANTEAU

2009-07-01T21:34:11-08:00

Discuss portmanteau here.

PORTMANTEAU, a leather case or trunk for carrying articles. of personal use when traveling. The typical portmanteau o; the present day has two compartments which, fastened at the back by hinges, close together like a book. The original portmanteau (adopted from Fr. portemanteau, porter, to carry, manteau, cloak, mantle) was a flexible round leather case to hold a cloak or other garment and of such a shape as could conveniently be carried on a rider’s saddle. In French the word was also applied to a bracket or set of pegs on which to hang clothes. C. L. Dodgson (“Lewis Carroll”) in Through the Looking Glass (” The Song of the Jabberwock”) used the expression “portmanteau word” of an invented word composed of two words run together and supposed to convey humorously the combined meaning: thus “slithy” conveys slimy and lithe; “mimsy,” flimsy and miserable.

noun

A trunk or case, usually of leather, for carrying wearing apparel and etc. on long journeys; a leather case attached to a saddle behind a rider.

[French portemanteau, from porter = to carry, and manteau = a cloak.]

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COVERT

2009-07-04T20:48:36-08:00

Discuss covert here.

adjective

1) Covered, sheltered, not open or exposed.

“You are of either side the green to plant a covert alley, upon carpenter’s work, . . . ” - Bacon

2) Secret, private, not open or professed; disguised, in privacy.

“And honest merit stands on slippery ground,
Where covert guile and artifice abound.” - Cowper

3) Private, not public

“How covert matters may be best disclosed,
And open perils surest answered.” - Shakespeare

4) Retired, in privacy.

“Gladly wolde I knowen all,
And hold me covert alway.” - Gower

5) Mysterious, dark, no open or plain

“To spake in wordes so coverte” - Gower

6) Retired, private, sheltered.

“This covert nook reports not of his hand.” - Wordsworth

7) Under cover or protection, applied to the state of a woman sheltered by marriage under her husband.

noun

1) Any covering or cover.

2) Any cover or sheltering place; a shelter, a defense.

3) A thicket, a shady place.

4) A place of refuge or retreat; a hiding place.

5) Secrecy, privacy.

6) The feathers which cover the bases of the quills of the wings or tails of birds.

[Old French covert, cuvert; French couvert, past participle of couvrir = to cover.]

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CORDIAL

2009-06-27T22:45:06-08:00

Discuss cordial here.

adjective

1) Cheering or comforting the heart; reviving, invigorative, restorative.

“He only took cordial, in which we infused sometimes purgatives.” - Wiseman

2) Proceeding from the heart; sincere, earnest, hearty.

” . . . gave them on almost every occasion a cordial support.” - Macaulay

3) Warm, affectionate, hearty, sincere, without hypocrisy.

noun

1) Anything which tends to cheer or comfort the spirits.

2) An aromatized and sweetened spirit, employed as a beverage.

3) A medicine which increases the force of the heart, or strengthens the circulation.

4) A medicine given to restore or increase the strength, to revive the spirits, and generally to cheer and comfort a person in a state of depression.

[Low Latin cordialis = partaining to the heart, from Latin cor (genitive of cordis) = the heart.]

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yclept

2009-06-29T09:11:13-08:00

a word delineated from Reading Chaucer:
means to “name”.
I am confused, however, if that is the past tense????
- if so what is the present tense. I am eclept Luke.
What are you eclept?

GALVANIZE

2009-06-30T19:55:12-08:00

Discuss galvanize here.

verb

1) To affect with galvanism.

2) To plate with gold, silver, and etc. by means of galvanism.

3) To give life, spirit, or vitality to.

[English galvan(ic); English galvan and suffix -ize.]

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Vagary

2009-07-03T08:00:20-08:00

—an extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, occurance or action.
The weather is one of the vagaries of nature on the Great Plains, and if you don’t like what you are experiencing, stick around 15 minutes and it will change.