At last! Webb’s Weird Words is finally returning to its stock-in-trade: definitions and other info on random rosters of oddball vocab.
In recent weeks, we’ve looked thematically at medicine, money, shortened words (for Feb.), made-up words (for April Fools’) and two sets culled from the sadly neglected American novelist Charles Portis.
So now, as we head slowly but surely toward our 100th installment, let’s get back to un-themed selections from my sprawling and ever-growing list of “weird words”:
Bathyscaphe (BATH-uh-skafe, or -skaff, noun) – According to Dictionary.com, this is “a navigable, submersible vessel for exploring the depths of the ocean.” It is distinguished from the similar bathysphere in that while both vessels are self-propelled, a bathyscaphe hangs suspended beneath a float rather than being attached to the surface via cable (Wikipedia). Derived from the Greek base bath(o) — meaning “depth” — neither word is related to bath; that has to do with warmth, rather than entering water.
Billycock (BILL-ee-kahk, noun) – In Britain, a derby-like felt hat with a rounded top. The derivation is as weird as the word, coming from the slang term bully-cocked — for the way a bully wears his headgear.
Futtock (FUT-uck, noun) – “One of the curved timbers that forms a rib in the frame of a ship” (American Heritage); may be derived from both “foot” and “hook.”
Invigilate (in-VIDGE-uh-late, verb) – Closely related to vigil, this means “to keep watch over”; in Britain, it refers more specifically to careful proctoring of students during an examination.
Methuselah (meh-THOO-zuh-luh, noun) – While “Weird Words” normally avoids proper nouns and capitalized terms, I do love this one. Named for the Bible character who lived 969 years (Gen. 5:21-27), a “Methuselah” is (among many modern uses) a large wine-vessel holding six liters.
According to Wikipedia, other such containers range from the tiny piccolo and the French chopine all the way up to the Nebuchadnezzar, the Goliath and the Melchizedek — with the latter proffering no less than 30 liters.
Bottoms up!
Minging (pronounced like “ringing”; adj.) – Obscure Scottish term meaning ugly, gross, smelly or lousy (of poor quality). That’s from the voluminous Collins English Dictionary — so expert and inclusive on Scottish dialect that its definition is quoted word-for-word at Dictionary.com.
Pericope (purr-ICK-uh-pee, noun) – Looking like a typo for periscope, this is actually a four-syllable word (long “E” at the end); it indicates a selection from a text or book. Like “periscope,” it does use the Greek base, peri — meaning “near” or “around.” Pericope can refer more specifically for a portion of text used in religious services (a.k.a., lection).
Plinth (PLINTH, noun) – Architectural term for a “slab-like member beneath the base of a pier of a column”; also, “a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal” (Random House College Dictionary).
Rhinotillexomania (RINE-oh-till-EX-oh-MAY-nee-uh, noun) – Since it’s not found in standard dictionaries, I can’t say for sure how this word is pronounced. (My guess uses various YouTube videos.) It is, however, listed at several medical websites, where the standard definition runs as follows: “a condition that causes a person to compulsively pick their nose till they self-harm” (Verywellmind.com).
The disorder is also listed under “Nose-picking” at Wikipedia, where we learn that the more general practice “is an extremely widespread habit: some surveys indicate that it is almost universal, with people picking their nose on average about four times a day.” But the more severe and serious rhinotillexomania is considered pathological and often requires treatment.
So, yeah … I hope you weren’t reading this week’s Webb during lunch.
If so, wash your hands again, and we’ll get try to back to less disgusting words next week.
