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Words and Phrases - Original usage of common words |
Not derived from
Latin or Greek - origins indicated in "( )"
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| A
B
C
D E F G
H I J K
L M N
O P Q
R S T U
V W X
Y Z |
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| A
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| abovo
- from the beginning |
| abreaction
-Purification of the soul or mind. |
| androcracy
- Male dominated government. It differs from theocracy in that
it doesn't have to invoke god to assume power. Testosterone
is sufficient to declare women should have no equality. The term was
coined by author William Gibson in his novel "Necromancer". |
| antonamsia-
The use of a proper name to indicate a member of a class |
| aphelion-
The point in the path of a celestial body that is farthest from the
sun. |
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| B |
| bower
- an attractive dwelling or retreat or shelter made with tree boughs or
vines. |
| brahmin
- a highly cultured recluse individual. |
| bray
- to spread ink thinly over a wide surface. |
|
| C |
| cadaster
- Registration of land, usually by means of a survey, for the purpose of
raising taxes. |
| caducity
- Polite medical term referring to the frailty of old age. Derived from
the Latin perishable. |
| calendo
- Gradually decreasing volume and tempo in voice or musical instrument.
Fade out for animation |
| caldera
- Large crater caused by the collapse of land after a volcanic explosion.
|
| camarilla
- A group of unofficial often secret and scheming advisers. |
| canticle
- A chant, not necessarily metrical sung, quoting words from the Christian
bible. |
| cantillate
- Singing, chanting or rehearsing music in a monotone voice. |
| captious
- To confuse, entrap or entangle in argument. ill-natured inclination to
stress faults and raise objections. |
| Cathar
- A sect that rivaled the official Roman Catholic Church that believed that
matter was evil and Christ did not undergo human birth or death. They
believed in the equality of women, opposed paying taxes to Rome and were
massacred after Crusades by mercenaries of the Roman Church. |
| cavil
- To raise trivial or frivolous objections |
| chary
- discreetly cautious or hesitant about dangers and risks. |
| chouse
- cheat or trick |
| congeries
- aggregration or collection |
| coquetry
- A flirtatious act or attitude. |
| corrigendum
- an error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its
correction on a separate sheet. |
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| D |
| desultory
- Derivation is from the word leaper . Lack of order or planning.
Haphazard. |
| discommode
- to inconvenience someone. |
| doctrine
of signatures -theory of old natural philosophy that the outward
appearance of a body signals its special property or magic and there is
a relationship between the outward qualities of a medicinal object and the
diseases against which it is effective. |
| donnybrook
- a free-for-all or a drunken brawl (from Donnybrook, Ireland)
|
| duende
( Spanish source Ghost+charm) Unusual power to attract or charm. |
| dybbuk
(Jewish source) The wandering sould of a deceased person that enters the
body of a living person and controls the person's behavior. |
| dysteleology
- No teleology. Doctrine of purposeless in nature. An example of this doctrine
is nonfunctional, useless vestigial organs in the human anatomy. |
| dystopia
An imaginery place of total misery and wretchedness. Metaphor for hell.
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| E
|
| egregious - flagrant
or notably bad |
| etymology - The science
of tracing the origin of words and the changing meaning applied by different
cultures in specific time periods. |
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| F |
| felicific
- An action or an intention which leads to happiness to oneself or others.
|
| frisson
- A brief momemnt of emotional excitement i.e. shutter or thrill. |
| funambulist
- A tightrope walker |
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| G |
| galimatias
- Nonsensical talk. Gibberish. |
| glossalalia
- Speaking in tongues. Three uses are: Shouting ministers
babbling words they claim come directly from god. Sweethearts whispering
sweet nothings in each other ear. Someone being taken away to
an insane asylum for talking nonsense. |
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| H |
| hale - free from
defect, disease or infirmity, exceptionally heathy or vigorous. |
| heathen - A term
commonly associated with someone not of the speakers faith. The derivation
of the term comes from the word "heath" a resident
in the countryside that was not claimed property or yet to be
surveyed and therefore not yet subject to taxation. |
| hector - to play
the bully, to swagger, to intimidate or harass by bluster or personal pressure. |
| hortative -advisory,
giving exhortation. |
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| I |
| imbricate
- Constructing tiles so they overlap. |
| incunabulum
- (noun) printed texts or books published before 1501 (usually before
printing press was invented. |
| insouciance
- nonchalance, lighthearted unconcern |
| involute
- Shells of a cowry |
| ipsedixit
- An arbitrary declaration with no attempt to justify statements with
facts. |
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| jabberwock
- An individual who engages in nonsensical speech or writing but puts on
the appearance that the words are coherent and logical. |
| jejune-Comes
from the Latin word "hungry". Lacking in nutrition, substance.
Also used to declare that something has no value, is immature, or is puerile
in content. |
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| K |
| karst
- an irregular limestone region with sinks, underground streams and caverns |
| kif
- (East Indian term) - pleasure |
| kobold
- (German origin) A mischievous household elf that brings in dust and dirt
from his underground haunts. |
| kwanza
- (Swahili origin) A form of currency |
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| L |
| kabile
- Open to change. Also used to describe someone who wanders or forgets
the origin of things. |
| kamia
- (Greek origin) - A monster in the general shape of a serpent that had
the head and breasts of a woman. Reputed to tempt innocent children and
then suck their blood. A vampire. |
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| M |
| mail-bomb
- The flooding of an e-mail address with (usually angry) messages. Firewalls
are set up to flag or catch these mail-bombs and shield them from
the end-users. More stringent laws are being considered to declare this
activity as illegal. |
| malapert
- Saucy, clever in manners or speech |
| mana
- A supernatural force claimed to be inherent in people, animals and sacred
objects. |
| minion
- A derogatory term indicating one is a lackey, stooge, or willing
slave. |
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| N |
| navigate
- To move around on the WWW by following hypertext paths from document
to document on different computers. The common slang is called "surfing".
|
| netizen
- A citizen of the Internet. |
| noodling
- A fisherman's trap for catching oversized fish. |
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| O |
| ostium
- a small opening |
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| P |
| pagan-
From the Latin pagani or peasant, or country dweller. Now used
to indicate that someone, group, peoples
or tribe is not of the faith that is being promoted by a dominant religious
spokes person. It has been used as a derogatory
term to condemn others not of the same faith. Often confused with
people who are not of any particular faith or atheistic in temperament.
|
| panegyric
- A eulogistic oration or writing. Formal or elaborate praise. |
| Pecksniffian
- pharisaical or unctiously hypocrtical. |
| penultimate
- next to last. Usually a complement that someone or something is
nearest to perfection. |
| prolix
- unduly prolonged or drawn out |
| Peter's
Pence A term coined in England to warrant taxation of every household.
A penny was to be formally collected as payment to the Roman Church.
|
| publican
- collector of taxes. |
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| Q |
| quay-
A wharf or paved embankment. |
| quoin-
Keystone. Exterior structural edge caused by the interlacing of bricks
or stones. |
| quixotic-
Taken from the hero Don Quixote. An impractical romantic. |
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| R |
| religiosity
- affected piety. Excessive zeal in propagating one's religious
views without concern for the beliefs of others. |
| rue
-A feeling of remorse, regret, and sorrow or to be penitent for one's
own mistakes. |
| Ruritanian
- having the characteristics of an imaginery place of high romance. |
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| S |
| simulacrum
- an insubstantial form or semblance of something, or a trace. |
| sinister-
originally used to indicate that someone threatened evil toward another
- associated with the Latin word sinistra
or left-handedness. |
| sinistral-
Of or facing the left side. Left-handedness. |
| snickersnee
- To stab and cut with a knife or sword. |
| solecism
- an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence. A minor blunder of
speech. A breach of etiquette or decorum. |
| sylph
- a slender graceful woman or girl. |
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| T |
| telle
- pertaining to the last cause or final purpose |
| thar
- a Bedouin law of blood-feuding |
| theolatry
- worship of a divinity. |
| thrack
-occupied fully, loaded, cram, busy. |
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|
| U |
| umbra
- The dominant shadow between two illuminated objects. |
| umbrage
- To defer or honor the grace, manners or custom of another without servility.
|
| undulant-
Wavelike in motion or appearance. |
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| V |
| vaticination
- the act of prophesying or prediction. |
| vrow-
An Afrikaner woman. |
| vulpine
- cunning, foxlike |
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| W |
| wamp
- an American elder (archiac term). |
| whipping
boy - a scapegoat. Coming from a tradition where a master's
misdeeds would be punished by having a servant whipped in their place.
|
| witan
- a wiseman (archiac term). |
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|
| X |
| xiphoid
- Shaped like a sword. |
| X-mas
- (Greek origin) Originally was not a slang term for Christmas but came
from the Greek letter Chi. Chi was an affectionate
abbreviation of Khristos. |
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|
| Y |
| yare-
Bright personality, quick minded and lively individual. |
| yot-
To unite closely, fasten tightly. |
| yowl-
To utter a long loud mournful cry. |
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| Z |
| za
- in old animization |
| zannar
- a girdle. |
| zansar-
a secret language among the Tibetans. |
| zarf
- a metallic cup-shape drinking vessel. |
| zart
- delicate |
| zetale
- algebraic multiplication |
| zeugma-
From the Greek word joining. A figure of speech in
which a verb or adjective is applied jointly to two nouns
although logically appropriate to just one. |
| zikr
- a religious ceremony of the dervishes used to induce ecstasy through dance. |
| zydeco
- popular music of southern Louisiana that combines tunes from French origins
with elements of Caribbean music and the blues and taht features guitar,
washboard and accordion. |
| zyme
- diseased germ |
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