Showing posts with label 0degrees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 0degrees. Show all posts

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Vocitated

Meaning: named or called.

Usefulness: 2 (It strikes me as a satisfyingly annoying way to ask someone's name "And what are you vocitated, old chap?" or introduce yourself: "I am occasionally vocitated as The Antipodean.")

Logofascination: 1 (The English version was invented by Sir Thomas, who is the sole citation in the OED.)

In the wild: Occasionally; someone's already taken it as a Twitter handle, worse luck.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Affabulatory

Meaning: something that presents a moral; like or of the nature of a fable.

Usefulness: 2 (May depend on how much you read Aesop or Kipling, but could also be applied to the horror-stories you hear of work accidents. "I am sure I do not need to point out the affabulatory nature of this brief account of workers using their circular saws without sufficient PPE.")

Logofascination: 1 (A Sir Thomas original, with the only two OED citations both being Sir Thomas - it's unusual enough for Sir Thomas to use one of his words twice, even more so for the OED to quote both usages. The entry was revised in 2012, though, so it's possible that it was updated with the advantage of searchable texts - even if that is the case, it is pleasing to see that our present-day lexicographers remain as logofascinated by Sir Thomas as their predecessors. Etymologically related to fable, of course, but also affable - easy to talk to - and the rather lovely French affabulateur - storyteller.)

In the wild: No.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Vinomadefied

Meaning: the OED says it's soaked with wine, the Inky Fool merely dampened; this may reflect their respective drinking habits.

Usefulness: 1 (Especially at writer's festivals, although a word for being whisky-soaked would be even more useful - aquavitamadefied? uisgebaughmadefied?)

Logofascination: 1 (A Sir Thomas original - the reason for the disagreement on degree of dampness seems to be that the Latin root madefacio can mean a number of things, including, allegedly, intoxication, so it is also possible Sir Thomas meant intoxicated by wine. Whether you prefer dampened, soaked or intoxicated, vinomadefied is one of those extra-useful words that suggests its meaning to most.)

In the wild: Another of Sir Thomas' sole citations in the OED, this also turned up in The Horologicon. Also if you go through enough of the google results for it, you find the moment where I first met Sir Thomas.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Cidentine

Meaning: this side of the teeth

Usefulness: 2 (I'm having trouble putting it in a sentence: "You might want to eat some chocolate while some of it remains cidentine" doesn't specify whose teeth it is on 'this side' of. Its opposite, tradentine, meaning beyond or on the other side of the teeth, might be more useful. "Where'd that chocolate go?" "It's already tradentine." Suggestions welcome.)

Logofascination: 1 (Invented by Sir Thomas; the Alpine comparison - see below - makes me wonder if he had made this joke before.)

In the wild: Not really; Sir Thomas seems to have been the only person to use these words, which fortunately hasn't stopped the OED including them.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Sercroupierizing

Meaning: serial rumpy-pumpy, as in, with one person and then another.

Usefulness: 3 (I can only imagine this being used in a derogatory sense, so usefulness depends on your need for such a descriptor; discussing rugby scandals, perhaps?)

Logofascination: 1 (Invented by Sir Thomas to expand Rabelais' French - see quotes below. I used rumpy-pumpy in the definition not for fear of offending your delicate sensibilities but to allude to croup.    Ser- is fairly straightforward, and presumably from the same root as series. Croup is an older word meaning the rump or hindquarters of a horse, and is actually the root of croupier.)

In the wild: No.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Visuriency

Meaning: the state of having the desire to see

Usefulness: 1 (Could apply to people visiting opthalmologists, or to the relative appeal of the latest blockbuster: "George Lucas does not inspire visuriency in the public in the way he used to." Or, of course, various aspects of voyeurism.)

Logofascination: 1 (Due to being invented by Sir Thomas; related to video, of course.)

In the wild: Not really, but another of Sir Thomas' words which turns up in The Horologicon.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Tacturiency

Meaning: the state of having the desire to touch

Usefulness: 1 ("Textured fabrics induce a terrible tacturiency in me; I find it hard to resist touching velvet." Or a sign in a shop: "Whatever your tacturiency, please resist.")

Logofascination: 1 (Besides being invented by Sir Thomas for one of his more well-known original passages, this lead to an interesting consideration of the difference between a word ending in ence - tacturience - or ency. I think it's that tacturience is the desire to touch, while tacturiency is being in the state of having that desire. As ever, clarification welcome.)

In the wild: Besides appearing in The Horologicon, it turns up in the usual logofascinated corners of the internet, and also as the name of a rather alternative art project. At least, I think it was art.

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.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Metamazion

Meaning: between the breasts; Sir Thomas helpfully provides a Latinate synonym, intermammillary.

Usefulness: 2 (Perhaps best used as Sir Thomas did, to describe jewellery: "Your metamazion ornament is lovely; where did you get it?" Although I have known those of a more bathycolpian tendency to store things - including, occasionally, mobile phones - metamazionally.)

Logofascination: 1 (A Sir Thomas original, which I suspect would be more widely known if it'd ended up in  his G&P. From meta-, obviously, and mazo-, a variant of Greek masto-, relating to the breast. Mazo- is part of some Greek folk etymology - i.e. probably wrong - for the Amazons.)

In the wild: No, but the OED thinks that formations using mazo- were only found from the 19th century, so I'll have to let them know. They do have intermammillary, also a Sir Thomas original (see quote below), meaning you get two zero degree words in one post. Bargain.

Degrees: 0

Connections: n/a

Which is used in: Ekskybalauron. As mentioned the other day, the Admirable Chrichton meets a sad end, and the entire court mourn him:
most of the young ladies likewise, that were anything handsome*, in a memorial of his worth, had his effigies in a little oval tablet of gold hanging 'twixt their breasts, and held, for many yeers together, that metamazion, or intermammilary ornament, an as necessary outward pendicle** for the better setting forth of their accoutrements, as either fan, watch, or stomacher.

 *Sir Thomas is probably using this in an earlier sense, meaning well-mannered, decent.
**Pendant.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Inpulregafize

Meaning: The context suggests thinking hard or becoming confused, but no-one except Sir Thomas knows what this means, or its origins.

Usefulness: 1 ("Don't inpulregafize yourself, sir, we'll fix it." "She's easily inpulregafized, isn't she?)

Logofascination: 1 (Sir Thomas probably invented it to match Rabelais' 'emburelucoque', which Cotgrave defines as "Turmoiled, blundered, or pestered, as the braine about a troublesome businesse."  The etymology for inpulregafize is obscure, which is probably why it is still undefined.  It is possible that just this once Sir Thomas invented a word without Latin or Greek elements, but I think that's unlikely.  I might need to email some classicists.)

In the wild: Nope.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Enixibility

Meaning: the possibility of being born - the OED says "?* Possibility of being brought forth".

Usefulness: 2 (Could be quite useful in the film industry: "Hugh Jackman's signed on, which automatically triples the enixibility.")

Logofascination: 1 (From enixus, a word to do with struggling which came to mean giving birth.  The OED takes the rather unusual step of listing enixibility as a "nonce-wd. (bombastic.)". The application of 'bombastic' to nonce-words seems to turn up only in a small patch around D and E.)

Disobstetricate

Meaning: the OED says 'to reverse the office of a midwife... to retard or hinder from childbirth'.  Sir Thomas used it in a figurative sense.

Usefulness: 2 (It provides a rather dramatic way of telling someone they'll wish they'd never been born: "I'll make you wish you could disobstetricate yourself!" Could also be used to describe scenes such as Leonato's in Much Ado About Nothing, in which he wishes to disobstetricate Hero: "Grieved I, I had but one? Chid I for that at frugal nature's frame? O, one too much by thee!")

Logofascination: 1 (Due to being invented by Sir Thomas.)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Subnovitripartient

Meaning: in a ratio of one to nine and three parts; in the example used by Sir Thomas, nine and three eighths, or 9.375.

Usefulness: 3 (I suspect this word's main use is to impress people; you could, for example, describe the Hogwarts railway platform as the platform of subnovitripartient fourths.)

Logofascination: 1 (Built from blocks of Latin: sub-, used in this case to reverse the ratio; novi-, nine; tri-, three; partient, dividing. The sub- indicates that it's one to nine and three parts, rather than vice versa.)

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Proquiritations

Meaning: the Dictionary of Scots Language has "to cry out in public, publish, proclaim", but for reasons outlined below, I think Sir Thomas meant "to publicly protest on behalf of another".

Usefulness: 1 (Can be used seriously: "The proquiritations of the Occupy movement seem to have made little difference". Or not: "It's always good to see Australia beat England, particularly when English proquiritations regarding umpiring provide an excuse to call them whingers.")

Logofascination: 1 (Quiritations are cries for help, complaints or protests, and I think Sir Thomas has added the 'pro' to emphasise that these protests are on behalf of someone else. The Proquiritations are supposedly written by 32 other people arguing that Sir Thomas should be excused from paying his debts, of which there were, apparently, many.)

Monday, January 14, 2013

Epassyterotically

Meaning: according to Sir Thomas, "one after another". Since he invented it, he should know.

Usefulness: 1 (Sir Thomas uses it of a killing men and of paying bills, so it's rather versatile.  Gets extra points for potential confusion: "I've booked meetings epassyterotically today." "I beg your pardon?" "You know; one after the other." )

Logofascination: 1 (I think I need to learn Greek; the OED tells me this is from ἐπασσύτερον, epassyteron - 'one upon another'. I'm fairly sure the ep- is related to epi- in episode and epicentre, but after that I get stuck. It doesn't seem to be related to erotically, though I'm sure Sir Thomas appreciated the semi-homophone. I recommend reading the etymonline erotica entry anyway, as an exercise in appreciating the effect of being surprised by poetry. Yet another sola word, for which Sir Thomas is the only citation in the OED.)

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Logofascinated

Meaning: fascinated by words. Sir Thomas was probably using fascinated in its older sense of enchanted, or bewitched. The softer, modern meaning of 'interested in' doesn't turn up for another century or two.

Usefulness: 1 (Use with caution, as in the source text - see below - logofascination involves fainting or bursting blood vessels.)

Logofascination: 1 (Logofascinated is often used to describe Sir Thomas, although I suspect he would have thought of himself as the logofascinator.  Despite reports to the contrary, he didn't describe himself as a 'logofascinated spirit' - this error is probably due to a misreading of the Oxford DNB's description of Sir Thomas 'in his own terms'. The text the DNB refers to is the one quoted below.)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Exergastic

Meaning: etymologically, it's from Greek meaning "tending to work out", but in its original context, Sir Thomas was probably extending a rhetorical term - exergasia - which involves repeating the same idea in different ways.

Usefulness: 1 (If you go with the etymological meaning - the only one provided by the OED - it can be applied to gyms and their frequenters, as suggested in The Horologicon, or used of formulae or budgets: "I never worry too much about my finances, they're basically exergastic." The rhetorical sense is also useful: "Great speech boss; most exergastic.")

Logofascination: 1 (Under exergasia, the OED has a quote suggesting it is imagery from 'polishers of marble', and several definitions over at LEME mention polishing or trimming; repeated images in a speech seem to be likened to a worker in marble, patiently bringing out the patterns within.)

Monday, November 26, 2012

Collugency

Meaning: mutual sorrow, shared mourning. 

Usefulness: 1 (Can be used seriously: "the nation's collugency at this sad time..." or not: "The outer suburbs of Melbourne were cast into collugency at Collingwood's elimination from the finals.")

Logofascination: 1 (I am reasonably sure that Sir Thomas invented this one, albeit by Anglicising the Latin collugere.)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Ekskybalauron

Meaning: gold out of dung.

Usefulness: 2 (Admittedly, limited to this blog. I've never said it aloud, and I'm not entirely sure how I would pronounce it. Update: was used to describe the emergence of an apartment from renovations, and I realised it could also be used for financial instruments in which dodgy debt is bundled up to appear attractive. If I work out time-travel, I'll go back about ten years and set up the Ekskybalauron investment firm.)

Logofascination:  2 (Sir Thomas adapted it from the Greek - the work is more commonly referred to as The Jewel, from the beginning of its extremely long subtitle. For more on the topic of gold and dung, and a helpful dissection of the etymology, see here.)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Enodandum

Meaning: Sir Thomas kindly provides definition and etymology in the Lexicidion at the end of Trissotetras:
that which is to be resolved and explicated, declared, and made manifest; from enodo, enodare, to unknit, or cut away the knot. 
Usefulness: 1 ("What is my first enodandum for the day, Alex?" In the quote below, Sir Thomas pluralises it as enodanda but then adds the English s as well: enodandas.)

Logofascination: 1 (While this is not yet in the dictionary, enode - to loose or untie; enodous - free from knots; and enodable - capable of being freed from knots; are all in the OED, and should be used more often.)