“What on earth does that mean?”

This query is pretty much the only connection between our new list of weird words and its publication date: Earth Day — April 22.

Currently standing at exactly 3200 oddball terms, my running list tends to generate that question when others look through it. But, sad to say, I often have no answer — because, after finding a kooky term, verifying its validity and then adding it to the list, I can rarely recall the definition!

Which is why it’d be tough to go through my collection and pick out words related to earth — or conservation — or even nature. I’d have to look ’em all up again — which would be more like “Earth Year,” rather than a single day.

So instead, let’s just go with another random roster of surreal terms — and together, we can work to remember what they mean.

(Unless otherwise indicated, definitions here come from either dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster.)

Berceuse (Bare-SOOZE, noun) – A cradlesong, or lullaby — or any composition with a “soothing, reflective character.” From a French word meaning “to rock.”

Frippet (FRIP-et, noun) – British slang for a “pretty, frivolous young woman.”

Hygge (HYOO-guh [or HOO-; or with the vowel-sound in book], noun) – Unless you know this word, you’d better look twice at its pronunciation. That’s because it’s borrowed from Danish; and as in that language, it means “a cozy quality that makes a person feel comfortable and content.” M-W tells us its earliest known use was 1960.

I first encountered it in Christmas Shopaholic, Sophie Kinsella’s dandy entry in her long-running series of bestsellers. Just had to throw that in — not only because it’s such a terrific read, but also to honor the beloved writer, who passed away in December at the too-young age of 55.

Glogg (GLUG [or with the vowel-sound of good], noun) – Hot, spiced punch made with wine and liquor; served in Scandinavian countries around Christmas. One might think this relates to grog — but note the different pronunciation. And the different origin:

Grog was actually the nickname of Edward Vernon, an 18th-centurty English admiral who ordered that sailors’ rum be diluted. “Old Grog” got his monicker from wearing cloaks made of a coarse fabric called grogam (Online Etymology Dictionary).

Omadhaun (AH-muh-dhaun, noun) Gaelic word meaning a foolish man or boy (Collins). This is such a rare word that it’s tough to nail down proper pronunciation. The final syllable seems to begin with a sound we don’t have in English — a blend of D and the TH in these.

Ptisan (tih-ZAN — like fan [or TIH-zun], noun) – Again, some disagreement on pronunciation here; but in any case, the P is silent — and it designates a decoction made from barley or other ingredients, possibly having medicinal value. (“Decoct” means to extract flavor by boiling — as with tea.) Ptisan is related to the similar tisane.

Vert (VURT, noun) – Three meanings here: Principally, vert designates “green forest vegetation especially when forming cover or providing food for deer.” In English law, it means the right to cut wood or pasture deer on someone else’s land. In heraldry (that is, the field of armorial symbols — like a coat-of-arms), it simply means “green.”

In this way, it’s related to other terms like verdant, the Spanish verde and even the classical composer Giuseppe Verdi (whose name literally means … Joe Green).

So despite my earlier disclaimer, I guess vert makes an apt conclusion for this Earth Day column.

Now get out there and enjoy some of that lovely spring verdure!