Word of the Day

[Laser Jock]

dybbuk - in Jewish mythology, a malicious or malevolent possessing spirit believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.

(In this case, used jokingly to explain why the author found themself suddenly agreeing with views they always hated when they were younger. Clearly possession is the answer. )

[krebscout]

Hey, that's a word I knew!

Oh yeah, you would. Cool.

Ha, sorry, wasn't meaning to sound braggish, I was just excited that I actually knew a word. My vocabulary is lacking. But I actually knew dybbuk, too, thanks to A Serious Man, which is my favorite Coen brothers movie.

[Yarjka]

But I actually knew dybbuk, too, thanks to A Serious Man, which is my favorite Coen brothers movie.

Great movie! All should watch, now.

[Katya]

Hey, that's a word I knew!

Oh yeah, you would. Cool.

Ha, sorry, wasn't meaning to sound braggish, I was just excited that I actually knew a word. My vocabulary is lacking.

Oh no, I didn't think you sounded braggish at all. I genuinely think that the vocabulary and jargon of different professions is interesting, and it's certainly a concept that would be more important in your profession than in mine.

[Digit]

paresthesia or paraesthesia

PRONUNCIATION:
(par-uhs-THEE-zhuh, -zhee-)

MEANING:
noun: A sensation of pricking, tingling, burning, etc. on the skin.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek para- (at, beyond) + aisthesis (sensation or perception). Ultimately from the Indo-European root au- (to perceive) that also gave us audio, audience, audit, auditorium, anesthesia, aesthetic, anesthetic, esthesia, synesthesia, and obey. Earliest documented use: 1848.

USAGE:
"Cronk muttered to himself, wiggling his right foot in an effort to relieve the paresthesia."
Bruce Banta; A Dead Man's Chest; Xlibris; 2011.

[Dead Cat]

Lazarus taxon: something that disappears from the fossil record for 1+ periods before coming back. Related are "Lazarus species," which are organisms found alive after they were classified as extinct.

[Katya]

camoufleur - a person serving in a camouflage unit during WWI or WWII

source - 99% invisible podcast about dazzle camouflage.

[Katya]

devolution (n) - the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level (i.e., giving a subnational region more authority or autonomy)

source - an article about Mebyon Kernow, a political party in Cornwall that favors devolution for that region

[Laser Jock]

antiscorbutic - having the effect of preventing or curing scurvy

source - an old medical book ("manual of practical hygiene") from the 1880s, which went through a long explanation of how they really weren't sure what it was, exactly, that prevented scurvy, but lemon juice and vinegar seemed to work (if you didn't have fresh fruits and vegetables). I thought it was pretty funny. (Also, they kept saying they thought it was citric acid, because of the whole lemon juice connection...nope!) This same book also still thought that malaria was caused by swamp gas. (Just found the book in Google Books; they've scanned the whole thing, so if anyone wants to get a good laugh out of super outdated medical science, check it out here. The part on scurvy starts at the bottom of the page and goes for several more pages. The part on malaria is here.)

Also, I had no idea that ascorbic acid was etymologically related to scurvy, but "antiscorbutic" made it kinda obvious (a = without, scorbic = scurvy-ish).

[Katya]

Also, I had no idea that ascorbic acid was etymologically related to scurvy, but "antiscorbutic" made it kinda obvious (a = without, scorbic = scurvy-ish).

This etymology makes my day.

[Katya]

demob (v) - demobilize, retire from military service

etymology: presumably a clipping of "demobilize"

[The Happy Medium]

Are any of you subscribed to the OED word of the day? I signed up a few months ago and I love it. You can sign up here.

[Katya]

abreaction - reliving an experience in order to purge it of its emotional excesses; a type of catharsis

source - a theater review that used the term "abreactive"

[Marduk]

I remember we were talking about eponyms in here at one point, so here's one:

Ramification. Apparently it is afer Petrus Ramus, the sixteenth-century French rhetorician.

[Emiliana]

I just realized the other day that "cuss" was originally a dialectical variant of "curse."

[Tally M.]

inculcate (v) - "to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly"

source - my strange Book of Mormon professor who has used this more times than he should

[Squirrel]

piggle -verb. "to fiddle or toy with. to niggle or worry about."

OED online word of the day

OH! "Piggle" means to niggle. Thanks for clearing that up for me. #sarcasmhashtag

[Katya]

I just realized the other day that "cuss" was originally a dialectical variant of "curse."

How did I never make that connection?

[Emiliana]

I just realized the other day that "cuss" was originally a dialectical variant of "curse."

How did I never make that connection?

I felt the same way.

[Katya]

natatorium (n) - A swimming pool, esp. one that is indoors.