Having spent some fall columns on related language matters like etymology and doublets, we’re back to our titular subject last week and this.
As promised in the previous installment, here’s a second set of 12 weird words to chew on; after these, we’ll move on to something more seasonal for mid-December.
As usual, we’ll look at these alphabetically, with pronunciation provided — and part of speech for all non-nouns.
Blini (BLIN-ee or BLEE-nee) – Russian pancake made with buckwheat and yeast. Also called a blin, it is served with caviar — or with two equally weird-sounding dairy products: smetana (like sour cream) or the cottage-cheese relative tvorog.
Funambulist (fyoo-NAM-byuh-list) – Tightrope walker. This somewhat rare word includes the common Latin base ambul, meaning to walk — as in amble; ambulance (once a “walking hospital”); and perambulate (from which we get the British pram, or “stroller”).
Hellgrammite (HELL-gruh-mite) – From the venerable Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate: “[origin unknown] a carnivorous aquatic No. American insect larva that is the young form of a dobsonfly and is used for fish bait.” Personally, I had no idea larvae could be meat-eaters; unless you’ve seen one as an angler, google a photo of this creepy little crawler — which certainly looks like a carnivore, ugh!
Mystagogue (MISS-tuh-gawg or -gog) – Expert who teaches or initiates a newcomer into a religious or “mystery” cult.
Nakers (NAY-kurz) – No, this has nothing to do with nudity! Originally from an Arabic word, it’s a pair of small kettledrums used in Medieval music. I first encountered this in the liner-notes for Jethro Tull’s 1977 masterpiece Songs from the Wood — about as “Medieval” an album as any mainstream rocker ever made.
Omphaloskepsis (om-fuh-low-SKEP-sis) – The Greek omphalo means “central point” or “navel.” This associated term can refer to “navel-gazing” (in other words, excessive focus on self); more commonly, however, it’s defined as in this quote from Dictionary.com: “contemplation of one’s navel as a mystical exercise.” Yep, that’s a thing; its Wikipedia page indicates use “as an aid to meditation” in yoga, Hinduism and sometimes the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Parvenu (PAR-vuh-noo or -nyoo; sometimes with stress on the final syllable instead) – A person who has risen in social or economic status without yet acquiring the manners, dress or other refinements appropriate to his or her new position.
Plumulaceous (ploom-yuh-LAY-shuss; adjective) – Downy, feathery. The related plumule is an ornithological term for a single bird-feather. Also related: plumula, plumulate, plumular, plumulose, plumularian. Like plumule, some of these are botanical, describing feather-like shoots from a plant; but in any case, they all originate in the Latin base plume.
Schwarmerei (shvair-muh-RYE) – Excessive enthusiasm or sentiment; a German term related to swarm. (As in, for example, “The overexcited crowd swarmed off to the Taylor Swift show”; that’s schwarmerei!)
Strabismus (struh-BIZ-miss) – A visual disorder in which one eye cannot focus with the other due to a muscle imbalance; it can manifest itself as cross-eye(d) or, alternately, amblyopia — the latter more often called “lazy eye.”
Syllabub (SILL-uh-bub) – A drink from milk or cream mixed with wine, cider or liquor; with gelatin added, it can be a dessert. Hmmm; sounds like this oughta be a lot more popular than egg nog.
Tickety-boo (tik-uh-tee-BOO, adjective) – Old British slang (but nonetheless priceless) for all right, correct or satisfactory. As in, “Joe’s latest list of weird words was tickety-boo.”
Next two weeks here in this space: Terms related to the Christmas holidays!
