What's an obsolete or incredibly obscure word you think people should know?

I thought the morning constitutional was taking a shit.

And what a lovely paragraph about it. Thank you.

Oh I love to perambulate, sitting still is what I really hate

And a "perambulator" is a kid stroller. It was an enlightening moment when I first came across that word in Neil Stephenson's "Seveneves", delved into its etymology and then realised why my British friend called the stroller a "pram". This is just a contracted form of perambulator.

It did not occur to me that there's actually also a verb for it, so thank you for pointing that out! I love it, and I will use it henceforth!

Interrobang sounds like something from a porno about police work.

“Did you question the suspect?”

“Yeah, Chief, we interrobanged him and got the info.”

While I like the concept, I can't help but prefer '!?' or '?!'. There's more granularity of meaning, and I think it just looks nicer having two or more separate characters.

Only if you agree to stop calling them Hashtags and use their more-correct name of Octothorpes

I made AltGr + / type an interrobang so I'd always have access to it

How do I start?

Apparently Streptomyces are the cause.

It's funny, literally every Doctor Who fan knows this word and what it means thanks to Neil Gaiman.

To add to that, "ereyesterday" is the noun version for the day before yesterday.

the german version "Übermorgen" is widely used in germany.

I actually dislike that term a lot.

It's like spunkgargleweewee. It seems immature and makes me feel more dismissive towards the argument. Maybe that also has to do with it being a catch all term and people seem less willing to give specific examples of how things are declining in quality.

Wait did you just coin that? That's fucking brilliant /s

Edit: apparently I needed a /s because Lemmy doesn't use this term constantly or anything?

This one always makes me smile, because it's from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It's just some guy's blog in which he comes up with new words to express experiences and emotions that are difficult to describe, and that specific one has thoroughly broken containment

Sonder

Literally means "special" in German

That was lovely, thank you for that.

and zaftig

of a woman : having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zaftig

I prefer callipygian

Also: gyatt.

Sounds useful in Minecraft. Like you put a sign in a cave "exit widdershins" to tell people to follow the left wall.

Yesss. I love this word and use it whenever I can

Widdershins start my hair, your Spooktober decorations are so spooky!!!!

And don't forget turnwise! (which is the opposite rotational direction defined by the direction the disc turns)

Sounds like a creature that would have a lot of creepypasta written about it.

measure thrice, cut twice.

That's the definition but not how it's ever used.

Yeah, that word means uncle-like, but it's very much a word for a fun or chill uncle vibe.

Don't you slander uncledom like that, you unavuncluar tranch!

I only know the term from Disc World, is that a real world term or just one of the many whimsical terms Pratchett coined in the books

Copacetic

Relevant song

Gormless is one of my favorites too. Shame it's not used as much as it should be in general.

A paramour is an “other lover”. Para = beside, amour = love. It’s not a casual fuck buddy, it’s your cheating partner. I’m surprised to hear you say it’s unknown as a word these days? Seems like just a normal word to me, albeit one I’m happy to go without using as cheaters suck.

I use paramour, usually to describe an infidelity situation. No one under 35 knows what it is.

Interesting. The only two references I've ever heard to Paramour are the band and the achievement in Mass Effect. I'm now wondering if the devs of that series knew exactly what it meant (infidelity) because you get the achievement for having any relationship. Maybe it's because you can't remain loyal to your original partner to get it in all three games with one playthrough.

The are all great, but tawdry is fantastic!

Rolls of the tongue, and we all come across several tawdry things/people in a given day.

I don't think tawdry is archaic. A little uncommon, but still in use.

At least 20 years of having slugs as a special interest and I never heard the word limaceous?? Thank you for correcting this!

Now to find out if it actually has specific academic usage and the biologists will execute me if I use it regarding slugs outside the superfamily Limacoidea.

I was sure Harry Potter said it one time when he cast a spell.

SHEMOMEDJAMO!

Would "Have a good one" maybe serve that purpose? It's not exactly the same, but similar sentiment.

"May the odds be ever in your favor" works in almost any situation!

Reminds me of a much abbreviated version of this Irish prayer:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Dutch: 'Werk ze'

I use "have fun" completely unironically all the time. One time my partner's (Pakistani) carer thought I spoke Arabic because Afwan is apparently an Arabic salutation meaning approximately the same as "cheerio", "goodbye", or "you're welcome" in English. He also turns up around half one every day for added amusement

Doesn't exist in German? What about "Frohes Schaffen"?

“Break a leg” is close, but more reserved for some grand performance

So in Estonian we have a bunch of those I don't remember because nobody uses them anymore. But the main one everyone knows is "Kivi kotti" (literally, stone/rock in your bag, but much like with "break a leg", you actually wish them well). It's still basically "good luck" but not so much for grand performances, it could just be for your first day of work, or going fishing (the real origin I guess). There's also "Nael kummi" which is "nail in your tire", which is reserved for people driving somewhere.

"Good luck with/have fun with that!" In a pleasant tone while gesturing towards the act being done is enough, I've found

Unless it's clearly like, WORK, work, then something like "don't work too hard, there!" Is common

I will steal that one!

I say "good luck" in a non-sarcastic tone to people whenever they head off on some banal errand. It gets some confused looks sometimes, laughs others.

Ah, I grew up listening to Adventures In Odyssey and one character said that all the time. Beautiful word.

I love that word. I don't know where I even learned it first, but I sometimes throw it back out there. It's so fun!

I like that it's root is fairly plain to see.

That's un-doubt-able - indubitable.

Being pedantic, but it's beyond that.

To grok is to know or understand so completely, it becomes a part of yourself. To know something fully. You can understand the concepts of astrophysics, but you might not grok the concept.

Specifically, it refers to a deep understanding.

[A critic] notes that [the coiner's] first intensional definition is simply "to drink", but that this is only a metaphor "much as English 'I see' often means the same as 'I understand'". (from Wikipedia)

When you claim to "grok" some knowledge or technique, you are asserting that you have not merely learned it in a detached instrumental way but that it has become part of you, part of your identity. For example, to say that you "know" Lisp is simply to assert that you can code in it if necessary – but to say you "grok" Lisp is to claim that you have deeply entered the world-view and spirit of the language, with the implication that it has transformed your view of programming. Contrast zen, which is a similar supernatural understanding experienced as a single brief flash. (The Jargon File; also quoted on Wikipedia)

For those who aren't familiar with the word, it comes from the 1961 scifi novel "Stranger in a Strange Land".

That list is going to send me down a rabbit hole looking for the etymology of words

Feel like tenebrous being on a list of obscure words is tenuous, but maybe I just have esoteric interests.

I'm a master in Cacography!

Oh, I also really like Mammonism: "the greedy pursuit of riches", from the Biblical "Mammon".

‘Tenebroso’ is commonly used in Spanish, at least in Spain. This whole thread is very interesting.

Kakistocracy: “a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.”

See also kleptocracy: rule by thieves. I not infrequently refer to our government as a kleptocratic kakistocracy

This is my favourite too. I have a very sesquipedalian friend, and I had the honour of introducing him to the word.

Well .... I knew exactly what you meant, as you know what I mean when I say: "Rucksackriemenquerverbindsungsträgerersatzschnalle" and I think it's beautiful.

Also: "Getriebeschmiernippel"

The chest strap?

fuck germany

Wud u tho?

"Could care less" is mine

Shoulda hoped for something better.

I once knew a guy from the deep south who'd say stuff like yoostacud. I yoostacud run a marathon. I thought that was marvellous! Another one was fixina. I'm fixina get tickets to the game tonight. You in?

Spotted the Radiohead fan