Odd words

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by gmw

I understand the supposed root, but can't find it as an accepted derivation in my OED or elsewhere. So Gilbert may have coined the word, but it doesn't seem to have gone beyond that. ... I'm not really trying to be picky, just making the observation.

Oh, I think Gilbert coined the word. I was questioning your mention of "abluvion" and wondered if it was just a typo for "ablution" since I can't find abluvion anywhere.

I'll be at my ablutions....

[gmw]

Originally Posted by HarryT

One of the nice things about English, though, is that you can add endings to practically any word, and the listener will understand the word even if nobody's ever used it before. The "-er" ending in this case meaning "a person who carries out the action". Eg the word "computer" is recorded from 1640 in the sense of "a person who performs calculations".

Yes, that makes if practical, but rather detracts from any cleverness that might have been attributed for coining the word. Plus, generally accepted derivations eventually make it into the dictionary as such, which does not appear to have happened for ablutioner. Whatever. I still like abluvion, which I don't think I'd come across before, and it's a word I could imagine using.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Oh, I think Gilbert coined the word. I was questioning your mention of "abluvion" and wondered if it was just a typo for "ablution" since I can't find abluvion anywhere.

I'll be at my ablutions....

OED says: abluvion = "That which is washed away."

They have very little else to say about the word, no quotations. ETA: Oh, it is described as obsolete - but I don't care.

[gmw]

Another word, especially apt for this forum ... or maybe not, after all, we should know better!

anacoluthia = lack of grammatical sequence or coherence, especially in a sentence.

OED describes it as a "want of grammatical sequence" - which I kinda like.

Variants of interest: anacoluthic, and anacoluthon (and its plural anacolutha).

[Katsunami]

IMHO, not everything should have its own word. It does make for short sentences, but it also makes text unreadable.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

IMHO, not everything should have its own word. It does make for short sentences, but it also makes text unreadable.

Like l33t and emoji and abbreviations like IMHO when there are perfectly acceptable English words that could be used instead?

I'm not for a moment suggesting that we should all be cramming our writing full of rare words, although the occasional one that fits exactly right is acceptable - to me anyway. But I do find language fascinating (if often perverse), not least because even after all these years of reading there are still words that pop up and surprise me in various ways.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by gmw

Like l33t and emoji and abbreviations like IMHO when there are perfectly acceptable English words that could be used instead?

Well... can you imagine someone telling you that your daughter has anacoluthia and needs help urgently so she doesn't have lasting problems in the rest of her life?

"Oh no! She isn't going to die, is she?!"
- "Nah, she's just bad at grammar."

I can see it now...

[Lima Bean]

Hornswoggle is one of my favorite odd words.

[issybird]

Going back to ablutioner, I will confess that one of my favorite made-up backward derivations is the verb "ablute," as in, "I'm going out after I ablute."

[arjaybe]

I use ablute, too. Speaking of backwards, how about bacronym (or backronym.) It's like an acronym, only you start with a regular word and then make up the acronym to fit.

Example: BASIC | Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2...ackronym-list/

[issybird]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

I use ablute, too. Speaking of backwards, how about bacronym (or backronym.) It's like an acronym, only you start with a regular word and then make up the acronym to fit.

Example: BASIC | Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2...ackronym-list/

Very nice! A new term to me and I can already think of another example, ZIP, as in ZIP code, for Zone Improvement Plan.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Lima Bean

Hornswoggle is one of my favorite odd words.

I do like words like that one. It reminds me of codswallop, which I've always liked. A different meaning, but that same real-character impression you get when its used.