09-15-2016, 08:02 AM | #1 |
cacoethes scribendi
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Odd words
I've been busy writing software rather than stories lately (for what seems like years ... wait ... it is years. Damn!) But I still read. Indeed I read so much that every now and then I glance at the incoming spam emails to see what's new. You know how badly most of these things of written, they're often worth a chuckle. So here I was reading one from "Apple Global" where I was being told "omission to do so will result in remotion of your Apple ID".
I thought: "Remotion? What idiots these people are." A few moments passed and then, I'm not sure why, I looked it up. It's a real word! How have I managed to go XX years without coming across "remotion" before? The next thought I had was, the writer's corner here could do with an "Odd words" thread, somewhere we can each air our ignorance. ... Wait. Put like that it might not be such a popular idea. |
09-17-2016, 03:17 PM | #2 | |
Gregg Bell
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I always thought remunerate was a weird word. Sure grammar wonks get it right but ordinary mortals just want to say renumerate. |
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09-19-2016, 07:49 AM | #3 |
cacoethes scribendi
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I wonder if your remuneration problem may be similar to my verisimilitude problem. I think it's a wonderful word, but I've never used it in conversation; I just can't get my tongue around it.
I have a similar problem with corollary - every time I try to say it out loud I am reminded of Pratchett: "Nanny Ogg knew how to start spelling 'banana', but didn't know how you stopped." I try to say corollary and end up with too many "oro"s in there somewhere. ... Maybe that's why I like reading so much, all these wonderful words that don't have to be spoken. |
09-19-2016, 09:01 AM | #4 |
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I come across odd words from time to time but the two that have really stayed with me a while are discombobulate (found this one in a Harlequin romance more than 20 years ago; I do use it from time to time, mostly when I'm being facetious ) and cachinnation (this one I found in Jane Eyre: "curious cachinnation" - so delightful! )
Finding odd words is one of my favorite things about reading |
09-20-2016, 05:16 AM | #5 |
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Yet another example of why a knowledge of Latin is so useful in understanding English words. Anyone with a knowledge of Latin would immediately recognise that it comes from the Latin verb "munero", which means "to give as a gift" or "to reward". I hear people say that learning Latin is irrelevant in today's world, but it's something I constantly find useful.
Last edited by HarryT; 09-20-2016 at 05:18 AM. |
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09-20-2016, 08:38 AM | #6 | ||
cacoethes scribendi
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I do like cachinnation. Quote:
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09-20-2016, 08:41 AM | #7 |
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Me too . I learned Latin (and Greek) as an adult, for fun (which I appreciate may not be everyone's idea of fun, but there you go ).
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09-20-2016, 02:04 PM | #8 | |
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09-22-2016, 03:29 PM | #9 |
Gregg Bell
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09-22-2016, 03:30 PM | #10 | |
Gregg Bell
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09-23-2016, 12:16 AM | #11 |
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Funny! The first thing I thought of was the old song by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: I Second That Remotion.
(FWIW, my spell check doesn't know it's a real word, either. I'm going to take a chance and not add it to the dictionary.) |
09-23-2016, 12:32 AM | #12 | |
cacoethes scribendi
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And, of course, it's not. You're a naughty naughty boy. |
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09-23-2016, 11:50 AM | #13 |
Gregg Bell
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Bob Dylan thought "I can't hide" in the Beatle's "I want to hold your hand" was "I get high."
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10-21-2016, 07:52 AM | #14 |
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Defenestrate: throwing someone out of a window
I first read it in an Eddings novel, and thought he made it up. It sounds as if a Dutch word ended up in English... only the Dutch version doesn't exist. In "defenestrate" I see "fenest(e)r", which looks and sounds the Dutch word "venster"; and this word actually is the Dutch word for "window". Therefore the Dutch translation of "defenestrate" would become "ontvensteren", and that word doesn't exist, as far as I know. |
10-21-2016, 09:12 AM | #15 | ||
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