Okay Hubski, we've heard your least favourite words in TheVenerableCain's post:
Now let's talk about your beloved words, those that make you smile when you hear them, whose existence makes you giggle and think "Oh there's a word for that!".
Mine would have to be sussurus, a whispered murmuring noise that sounds like it means; just saying it evokes images of tall grasses in gentle wind, a brook slowly rumbling along and hushed whispers in a crowd.
I really like saying 'phenomenal' out loud.
And I've loved the Japanese word 'kintsukuroi' ever since coming across this picture
Phenomenon is definitely a word that makes me smile, but not directly... my wife and I have a terrible habit of just continuing words like that. So phenomenonenomenon or dvdvdvd. I think for her it's a mental block against these types of words where she short-circuits and gets stuck in a loop, whereas I just like doing it to be a part of something!
In the same vein as sussurus, I absolutely adore hubbub. A favorite useful word, which I take pleasure in being able to wield when it's convenient, is salient. It's similar to "relevant", but less judgemental, because it simply describes a topic which is already in the discourse context. One example might be if you were to ask a person to bring "the car" around. They would know which car you were referring to (probably the one they were in or the closest one they had access to), and that car would be the salient car in the context. It's a term from linguistics, but I actually use it all the time to halt derailings, real misunderstandings, and feigned confusion. Other than that, I'm a sucker for German compound words: - verschlimmbessern, from verschlimmern ("to make worse") and verbessern ("to make better"), which describes when you make something worse while trying to make it better. There's also supposedly kaputtreparieren ("to break something while trying to fix it"), though I've never caught that one in the wild. - Fremdschämen ("external shame") is that feeling you get when watching someone who should be really, really embarrassed but maybe isn't and you're humiliated on their behalf. - Vergangenheitsbewältigung is a uniquely German concept, by my reckoning. Literally "the process of coming to terms with the past", but you can probably guess at what sort of "past" is salient in the German context (Nazism).
I spent today doing kaputtreparien!
I drove my car to the garage and, in doing so, totaled the engine. I was feeling horrible about this until I found this perfect word for it, and now I feel like Germany understands my pain :)
I quite like "petrichor". It's that earthy smell produced when rain falls on dry ground. There's another word that's just on the tip of my tongue, but I remember thinking it was such a nice word to say. Like a little party in my mouth. I'll come back if I remember it. Also, the word "mirror" sounds ridiculous to me. Am I alone with that one?
I love the earthy smell, but don't like the word petrichor it sounds so... macabre(?) is that the word I want? Like it should be a dungeons and dragons monster or something. Geosmin is also a part of the earthy smell and that word feels more natural, more connected and huggly. Also, they really missed an opportunity not choosing a palindrome for mirror.
Ah yeah, I suppose I see your point. The "petri" part sounds lovely, but then the "chor" bit I have mixed feelings about. I've never heard of geosmin! I never thought a chemical compound would be describable as "huggly" haha. Also the word was somnamblent! That was the one I couldn't remember! Great word.
I'm a big fan of double contractions like couldn't've, wouldn't've, shouldn't've. Really fun to say out loud.
In England we use triple contractions! Especially older well-spoken people (e.g. the Queen. Also my mother (which embarrassed me almost as much as her driving a yellow vw bus and wearing mismatched flip-flops...))
Salacious, for the sound and the meaning.
Well, so you made me go look it up and now I just like it for the sound. To me, it meant 'slightly naughty without being wicked'. Apparently to the rest of you weirdos it means an unhealthy interest in indecent topics. Stop that.
What? No. It definitely means "slightly naughty..."
Where did you look that up?
Just checked ALL THE DICTIONARIES. They are in cahoots. I suspect a conspiracy is afoot.
'Rural'. I teach EFL. The students in this country always tell me English speakers sound like we have hot potatoes in our mouths. When I teach them the word 'rural', I understand why.
Petrichor! Edit: I see RicePaddy has already pointed that one out, so let me add some of the words I like from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/) - Sonder, n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own ; Adronitis, n. frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone—spending the first few weeks chatting in their psychological entryway, with each subsequent conversation like entering a different anteroom, each a little closer to the center of the house—wishing instead that you could start there and work your way out, exchanging your deepest secrets first, before easing into casualness, until you’ve built up enough mystery over the years to ask them where they’re from, and what they do for a living ; and I really really love Anecdoche, n. a conversation in which everyone is talking but nobody is listening, simply overlaying disconnected words like a game of Scrabble, with each player borrowing bits of other anecdotes as a way to increase their own score, until we all run out of things to say. Edit 2:
I forgot Obstreperous - it sounds perfect for what it means.
Pareidolia: a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists. Mondegreen: a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near-homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning. Troglodyte: a word that can be used in so many wonderful ways Cerulean: just saying it makes me feel like a bright blue ocean Haploid: term used when a cell has half the usual number of chromosomes. A normal eukaryote organism is composed of diploid cells, one set of chromosomes from each parent. However, after meiosis, the number of chromosomes in gametes is halved Parthenogenesis: a form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. Skeuomorph: a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original Peripatetic: traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods Opsimath: a person who begins, or continues, to study or learn late in life Ecdysiast: An erotic dancer who removes their clothes as a form of entertainment; a stripper Monotreme: mammals that lay eggs (Prototheria) instead of giving birth to live young like marsupials (Metatheria) and placental mammals (Eutheria). The only surviving examples of monotremes are all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea, although there is evidence that they were once more widespread. Grok: understand (something) intuitively or by empathy (Robert Heinlein) Synchronicity: the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection. Synesthesia: the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.
"Munted"
Kiwi / Aussie slang for "severely damaged", "fucked-up", "FUBAR'ed", and sometimes "wasted / drunk".
I love sussurus!
The Spanish verb for to whisper is susurrar - I'm guessing they come from the same root?
I always loved the intimacy of the word in Spanish, and now I get to use it in English, too! yay
Schmetterling, Pappilon, Farfalla, Butterfly - In every language the word for Butterfly is universally as beautiful as what it describes.
All of those sound like food to me! Schmetterling, a german chocolate treat; Pappilon, a petite french cream cake; Farfalla, a spanish or mexican dish popular at lunchtime. Hey even butterfly sounds like it could be a fatty treat on a stick... I am so sorry, we're having a late lunch today.