Last week, Webb’s Weird Words wandered into the wonky world of sesquipedalian terms — meaning “long” or “polysyllabic” (literally: “one and a half feet”).
Today by contrast, we’ll look at the other end of the spectrum — with a selection of diminutive, Lilliputian or teeny-weeny words. (Sorry, there aren’t too many comical synonyms for “short.”)
Note: I’ve mostly avoided two-letter words, as that will be a later article directed toward Scrabble-devotees, who rely so heavily on that little category. I’ve omitted pronunciation where not needed; likewise, these are nouns unless otherwise indicated.
Alb: A linen vestment worn by priests.
Ary: (AIR-ee, adjective) Any; also “none,” similar to “nary.” A Southern U.S. slang term often used by characters in fiction from that region, it’s a contraction of “ever a” (“e’er a”) — as in “Was there ever a person who…”
Eme: (EEM) Scottish term meaning friend or uncle.
Dup: Now-obsolete verb meaning “to open.” Shortened from “do up,” it is used by Ophelia in “Hamlet,” singing of a lover who “dupped the chamber door.”
Feu: (FYOO) Land on which rent is paid using crops or money — related to “fee”; another Scottish word.
Fid: A wooden or metal bar often employed in sailing.
Ka: (kah) Popular in Scrabble — where Ks are hard to use — this is an Egyptian religious term for a spirit that lives inside humans and supposedly survives after bodily death.
Kak: African term meaning rubbish or feces — as in “Help me wipe this kak off my shoe!”
Kef: Sleepy contentment, often induced by narcotics.
Loo: British slang term for bathroom; I first encountered it in Trevanian’s 1973 spy spoof “The Loo Sanction,” in which a character is actually bumped off in the lav. (Oh, well — we all gotta go sometime.)
Oik: Another British term, this one meaning an uncouth or oafish person. Plural “oicks,” just in case you know several of these.
Ort: Somewhat common word meaning food scraps or remainders from a meal.
Oud: (ood) Lute-like musical instrument of Africa and the Middle East.
Sei: (say) A type of finback whale now widely endangered; also, “rorqual.”
Suk: (sook) Market or bazaar, esp. in Arabic countries.
Voe: Yet another Scots’ term, this one meaning a small creek or bay.
Wen: Also fairly common, this term refers to a boil or growth on the skin. According to dictionary.com, in Britain it can mean a sizable city.
Yob: (yahb) Chiefly British — a teenage hooligan; a youth who is noisy, aggressive or rude.
Zek: Russian term for an inmate of a prison camp; probably abbreviated from a longer and almost unpronounceable Russian word for “prisoner.”
Zuz: (zooz) Ancient Hebrew coin, one-fourth of a shekel.
So there are 20 short ones for you. Readers with questions or contributions can contact your favorite local lexicographer at robbwhitefan@gmail.com.
