Semantics
"Interesting Words" - Semantics and linguistics. - Or - Words We Like!
Contents
absquatulate
verb : To depart a. in a hurry; abscond. b. To die. 2. To argue. [Mock-Latinate formation, purporting to mean "to go off and squat elsewhere"]
Notes: The vibrant energy of American English sometimes appears in the use of Latin affixes to create jocular pseudo-Latin "learned" words. There is a precedent for this in the language of Shakespeare, whose plays contain scores of made-up Latinate words. Midland absquatulate has a prefix ab-, "away from," and a suffix -ate, "to act upon in a specified manner," affixed to a nonexistent base form -squatul-, probably suggested by squat. Hence the whimsical absquatulate, "to squat away from." Another such coinage is Northern busticate, which joins bust with -icate by analogy with verbs like medicate. Southern argufy joins argue to a redundant -fy, "to make; cause to become." These creations are largely confined to regions of the United States where change is slow, and where the 19th-century love for Latinate words and expressions is still manifest. For example, Appalachian speech is characterized by the frequent use of recollect, aggravate, oblige, and other such words.
anachronistic
noun : 1. Representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than the chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. One that is out of its proper or chronological order: "He is interested in the spirit of the play, and he is not averse to throwing in an anachronism or two if he thinks it will help under-score a point" Skylines [French anachronisme from New Latin anachronismus from Late Greek anakhronismos from anakronizesthai to be an anachronism Greek ana- ana-Greek khronizein to take time( from khronos time)
anagram
noun : A word or phrase formed by reordering the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain. A palindrome is an example of an anagram, but an anagram is not necessarily a palindrome. The word 'racecar' is a palindrome.
antithesis
noun: a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else. the state of two things that are directly opposite to each other. literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.
aphorism
noun : A concise statement of a principle. A general truth expressed in a pithy sentence. A brief saying embodying a moral, a concise statement of a principle or precept given in pointed words. Secrecy is, among other things, also the sociological expression of moral badness, although the classical aphorism. -Georg Simmel
colloquial
adjective : An expression not used in formal speech or writing. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. Colloquialisms may often be regional. Connotative, slang, jargon. Words such as "gonna" or "grouty", phrases such as "ain't nothin'" and "dead as a doornail." A colloquialism is a colloquial expression.
euphemism
noun : The act or an example of substituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive. A more pleasant a metaphor. Euphemisms are used in public relations and politics. Euphemisms may be equated to politeness. Sometimes they are used in humor. Example, "She is just big boned" rather than saying "She is fat."
idiom
noun : 1. A speech form or an expression of a given language that is unique and unusual to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on. 2. The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language. 3. Regional speech or dialect. 4. a. A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; jargon: legal idiom. b. A style or manner of expression peculiar to a given people: “ Also important is the uneasiness I've always felt at cutting myself off from my idiom, the American habits of speech and jest and reaction, all of them entirely different from the local variety ” S.J. Perelman 5. A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium: the idiom of the French impressionists; the punk rock idiom.
linguistics
noun : The study of language. Understanding the nature of human speech.
nomenclature
noun : A naming system, such as what is used in engineering, science, and research.
palindrome
noun : 1. A word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward. For example: A man, a plan, a canal, Panama! 2. A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand. [From Greek palindromos running back again, recurring palin again; See k w el-1 in Indo-European Roots. dromos a running] pal ”in·dro“mic ( -dr½“m¹k, -dr¼m“¹k) adj.
peculiar
adjective: Unusual or eccentric; odd. Distinct from all others.
renege
verb : reneged reneging reneges v. intr. 1. To fail to carry out a promise or commitment: reneged on the contract at the last minute. 2. Games To fail to follow suit in cards when able and required by the rules to do so. v. tr. 1. To renounce; disown. n. 1. The act of reneging. [Medieval Latin renegre to deny; See renegade ] reneg n. ne . Important derivatives are: naught naughty neither never no 1 no 2 none nor 1 not nothing nay annul nefarious neuter nice null nullify annihilate non- neglect negligee negotiate negate deny renegade Not.
succinct
adjective
(especially of something written or spoken) briefly and clearly expressed. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse: a succinct reply; a succinct style.
vernacular
adjective : 1. using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language 2. of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country 3. of, relating to, or being the normal spoken form of a language
whimsical
adjective : impulsive, erratic, unpredictable. Marked by whim or caprice. "a whimsical personality."
witticism
noun : a witty or clever remark, such as a thoughtful joke.
