According to Britannica’s website, there may have been two men named Valentine — both dating back to ancient times. Both were Christian martyrs, while one was patron saint of lovers — though he’s also associated with epileptics and beekeepers.
Since this doesn’t sound terribly romantic, I tend to sidestep Valentine-related terms here at “Weird Words” — though we did one set in 2024.
So this year, with a nod to your standard rose bouquet, here are a dozen oddball words for curmudgeons like me — who celebrate Feb. 14 but don’t generally care to read (or write) about it:
Balneal (BAL-nee-ul, adj) – Of or related to bathing; pronounced with the A-sound in pal.
Cuitlacoche (kweet-la-KOE-chay, noun) – Rare Spanish-derived synonym for what many Central PA farmers will no doubt recognize: corn smut, a fungus-induced disease featuring tumor-like growths and powdery black spores.
Dropsonde (DROP-sond, noun) – From Wikipedia: An “expendable weather reconnaissance device” that is dropped from aircraft over the sea — to measure and track storms. (The similar radiosonde is carried, not dropped.) The final syllable in both words comes from sound — in the sense of “sounding the depths.”
Flokati (flow-KAH-tee, noun) – Originally Greek, this is a thick, shaggy woolen rug (Dictionary.com). Many readers will recognize the term from last Monday’s Jeopardy! — often a good source of oddball terms.
Gombeen (gom-BEAN, noun) – Irish synonym for usury — in other words, loaning money at exorbitant rates. While we’re on this subject, it may interest you to know (pardon the pun) that America’s average credit-card interest-rate is 20-25%. (This means that you will shortly owe twice as much as you borrowed.) At the moment, capping these rates seems to be one of the few ideas both Trump and the Democrats agree on.
Hmmm; could get very interesting indeed.
Janky (JANG-kee, adj.) – Of poor quality. According to Merriam-Webster.com, this derives from African-American slang — as a variant of either junky or jinxed.
Kip (KIP, noun) – British term for a nap — or a place to sleep (including a bed or a cheap hotel). While kip has other meanings (e.g., animal hide), I learned this sense during recent research on George Orwell, who was famous for inexpensive lodgings in his studies of poverty and the working classes.
Lagom (LAW-gawm, noun) – Not found in most dictionaries, this is a relatively recent addition to English. From a Swedish term meaning “just enough” or “moderation,” it’s the principle of “living a balanced, moderately paced, low-fuss life” (Dictionary.com).
Hear, hear.
Obol (AH-bul, noun) – Ancient Greek coin — or unit of weight — equal to one-sixth of a drachma (American Heritage).
Sprag (SPRAG [like bag], noun) – A chock or steel bar that prevents a vehicle (esp. a wagon) from moving backwards on a slope; also a post or support used in mining (Collins).
Tetterbush (TETT-ur-bush, noun) – An evergreen shrub of the Southeastern U.S., with “leathery leaves and white to pink flowers” (Dictionary.com).
Zebu (ZEE-boo, noun) – In Asia and India, a domesticated ox with “a humped back, curving horns, floppy ears, and a large dewlap” (that’s a hanging fold of skin under the neck).
This last definition — quite picturesque, if you ask me — is from the hefty Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary (2001). I bought one late last year, mostly out of curiosity; I mean, just how much linguistic benefit might one expect from a computer company? But I’m loving it more and more — and it has swiftly become one of my go-to’s for these columns.
We’ll take a deeper dive into that volume next week.
