Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Emblustricate

Meaning:  To bewilder. Cotgrave borrows some synonyms from incornifistibulating to define the French version:
To trouble, blunder, or or pester the mind with, to beat the braines about.
Usefulness: 1 (It just sounds right: "I"m just so emblustricated!" "Your emblustrications won't work this time, my friend." "I managed to emblustricate the boss enough that he just agreed to my pay rise!")

Logofascination: 1 (Even if it weren't a 0-degree word, the OED etymology note would improve its rating: "Whimsically formed to render the equally fantastic French emburelucoquer." We who are logofascinated salute you, oh distant lexicographer.)

In the wild: not really.

Degrees: 0 (Although it's formed after the French word, I think this is sufficiently changed to be a new English word.  Feel free to argue the point.)

Connections: n/a

Which is used in: G&P, Le Tiers-Livre, XXII: How Panurge patrocinates and defendeth the Order of the Begging Friars. As quoted yesterday and previously:
the Romish Church, when tottering and emblustricated with the gibble-gabble gibberish of this odious error and heresy,
is apparently saved from emblustrication by the Mendicant Friars and Jacobins.  The Jesuits had only existed for 13 years when Rabelais died, so there's no way he could have realised their ability to save the day.
 

No comments:

Post a Comment