New Words You Learn

[tifosi77]

Mateship

noun
1. the state of being a mate.
2. Australian. a mode of conduct among Australian men that stresses equality, friendship, and solidarity.

[Shyster]

Gill (pronounced the same as the female name Jill)

A unit of measurement equal to a quarter of a pint (1/2 cup). Also called a teacup.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

Iirc they used to distribute rations of whisky during the Lewis and Clark expedition based on gills

[robbiestoupe]

I've had to look up the following words reading through a John Muir book

denudation: noun
1.the act of denuding.
2.the state of being denuded.
3.Geology. the exposing or laying bare of rock by erosive processes.

tophetisation: no definition, but the interwebs seem to think Muir made this word up. Found this blurb on goodreads.com -

tophetization (n): I'm assuming Muir (who had memorized the Bible) was referring to Tophet, legendary (mythical?) site of child sacrifice and carcass disposal, and apparently synonymous with Hell, so I guess "tophetiziation" is synonymous with "damnation." p. 89

concomitant: adjective
1. existing or occurring with something else, often in a lesser way; accompanying; concurrent:
an event and its concomitant circumstances.
noun
2. a concomitant quality, circumstance, or thing.

garret: noun
1. an attic, usually a small, wretched one.

[dodint]

Praecipe - an order requesting a writ or other legal document.

I thought it was a typo the first few times. Never heard of it before I started reading up on PA specific procedure.

[shafnutz05]

debridement
(medical)
: the usually surgical removal of lacerated, devitalized, or contaminated tissue

This also refers to the removal of tartar during dental checkups. I only know that since I work in that world now

[Gaucho]

pusillanimity
/ˌpjuːsɪləˈnɪmɪti/

noun
lack of courage or determination; timidity.
"the pusillanimity of his answer surprised me"

[Gaucho]

[Shyster]

congeries
/ˈkänjərēz/

A disorderly collection; a jumble; a collection or aggregation of disparate items.

Congeries is the spelling for both the singular and plural, so both one pile of junk and multiple piles of junk would be congeries.

[Gaucho]

[Gaucho]

[robbiestoupe]

Learned that a couple years ago:

There is a welding supply shop on Route 8 in Hampton, across from Sheetz. The owner has had Trump signs in the window since 2016, and he must have heard the news about the Trump/Pence split, because now he has a sign that says Trump/DeSantis.

Wonder if he's the guy on East Bardonner with the kakistocracy sign on his barn roof.

[Shyster]

A book that's relevant to this topic: The Unexpected Evolution of Language: Discover the Surprising Etymology of Everyday Words. It's basically a mini dictionary of words that have changed their meanings over time. For example, "bless" originally meant "to mark with blood," as in spilling blood on a sacrificial altar as an act of worship. When Christianity took over from pagan religions in Europe, the worship meaning remained but the blood meaning died out.

Some other examples of original meanings:

broadcast - to scatter seeds
buccaneer - a user of a boucan (which is a form of barbecue grill in the West Indies)
hussy - a stay-at-home housewife
pioneer - a foot soldier
snack - a dog bite
thrill - to pierce, as with an arrow

Borrowing the book is free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

[Kaiser]

So "shoot to thrill" isn't clever, it's normal?

[dodint]

Hoarfrost

hoar·frost
/ˈhôrˌfrôst/
noun
noun: hoar frost; noun: hoarfrost
a grayish-white crystalline deposit of frozen water vapor formed in clear still weather on vegetation, fences, etc.

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

Sounds like something you'd find on tulips.

[dodint]

Love it.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

Bildungsroman - a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education.

"the book is a bildungsroman of sorts, as Tull overcomes his abused childhood and learns about love"

interestingly this is only used for literature. In film it’s “coming of age”