[ home ] [ index ]

list of wwftds

Herein is a complete list of "wwftd"s™ dating from ca. 1987 to present. This started as a "word for the day up on the blackboard" sort of thing and has degenerated into its current form; irregular distribution to a mail list via e-mail...and now this.

 Copyright © 1995-2020 -- Michael A. Fischer 
    wwftd email

U

ubermensch

{G.] a superior being: superman

uberty

[L. ubertas]  now rare  fruitfulness, fertility; copiousness, abundance

ubiety

position, location; whereness

ubiquit

[back-formation from ubiquitous or ubiquity, fr. L. ubique, everywhere]

obs.  to make ubiquitous (as to turn up everywhere)

ucalegon

[Ucalegon is one of Priam's friends in the Iliad, and the destruction of his house is referred to in the Aeneid: jam proximus ardet Ucalegon]

/yoo KAL uh gon/  archaic  a neighbor whose house is on fire or has burned down

ufology

the study of unidentified flying objects

uglyography

bad handwriting; uncouth spelling; hence, uglyographize (to spell uncouthly)

[coined, and used only, by Robert Southey]

ugsome

archaic  frightful, loathsome

ullage

1) the amount which a vessel, as a cask of wine, lacks of being full; wantage; deficiency

2) slang  the amount (of wine) left in glasses in a restaurant

ultimogeniture

rights of the last-born

ultracrepidarian

[adj] going beyond one's proper province; giving opinions on matters beyond one's knowledge

[n] one who ventures beyond his scope; an ignorant or presumptuous critic

ultracrepidarianism

giving opinions outside of one's knowledge

ultrafidian

going beyond faith

ultramontane

[fr. Med. L. ultramontanus, beyond the mountain]

1) situated beyond the (Alps) mountains

2) of or relating to ultramontanism: advocating the greatest possible enhancement of papal power and authority [from the fact that the papal seat was located the other side of the Alps from the French]; hence, ultramontanist: a supporter of ultramontanism

3) claiming an absolute supremacy or a privileged superiority

ultramundane

situated beyond the world, or beyond the limits of the solar system

ultroneous

/ul TROH nee ous/  a)  obs.  made or offered of one's own accord; spontaneous, voluntary

b) Scot. Law  of witnesses: relating to testimony given without citation

ululate

howl, wail

umbrageous

[fr. umbrage, < L. umbra, shadow]

1) affording shade, shady; shadowy

2) inclined to take offense easily: beligerant, resentful

unasinous

equally stupid

unau

[Port. < Tuni uná, lazy]  /YOO now/

Zool.  the South American two-toed sloth  (cf. ai)

uncomeatable

[un- + come-at-able : attainable]  also un-come-at-able

unattainable; inaccessible

unctuous

fatty, oily; rich in organic matter; marked by a smug, ingratiating and false earnestness

underconstumble

[alteration of undercumstand < understand]

UK dialect  to understand (also undercumstumble)

undercumstumble

see previous

undercroft

underground room or vault, esp under a church; crypt

unguinous

fatty, oily

unipotent

having power in one way only; esp: capable of developing only in one direction or to one end product

univocal

/yu NI va kal/  having one meaning only; unambiguous (ant. of equivocal)

unkent

[fr. un- + ken]  (also unkenned)

Scot. & N. Eng. dial.  unknown

unphilosophise

[un- + philosophize]  to degrade from the character of a philosopher

unpregnant

obs. in this sense  not prolific; slow of wit, inept   unpregnant of my cause - Hamlet

unseven

obs, rare  to render other than seven; to reduce from seven in number

unsonsy

Brit. dial.  1) boding or causing misfortune: unlucky  2) unpleasant, disagreeable

unsuasible

not susceptible to persuasion, not suasible: unpersuadable

untermensch

[G. fr. unter, under + mensch, person]  derogatory  an inferior person; a subhuman; cf. ubermensch

unthirlable

[fr. un- + thirlable]  obs.  impenetrable

upaithric

[fr. Gk upaithros, cf. hypaehtral]

Shelley’s nonce word  open to the air; having no roof: hypæthral

Their temples were mostly upaithric; and the flying clouds, the stars.. were seen above - Percy Shelley

upas

[fr. Indon. Malay pohon upas, poison tree]  /YÜ puhs/

1) a tall tropical Asian tree of the mulberry family with a latex that contains a substance used as an arrow poison; also: a poisonous concentrate of the this latex

2) a poisonous or harmful influence or institution

uplift

[fr. earlier sense, to lift up or elevate]

sci fi  to engineer a species (usually genetically) to make them intelligent; also, the act of uplifting

upscuddle

[up- + scuddle, origin uncertain]  South. U.S. dial.  a quarrel

uranological

regarding or pertaining to uranology/astronomy

uranologist

one who studies or writes on uranology

uranology

[fr. Gk ouranos: sky, heaven(s) + -logy]  /yur uh NAL uh jee/  (also ouranology)

1) the study of the heavens: astronomy 2) a discourse or treatise on the heavens

urgrund

[G. < ur- primal + grund, ground]  /UR grunt/  a primal cause or ultimate cosmic principle

urinator

one who dives under water in search of something, as for pearls; a diver

uroboros

[fr. Gk ouroboros]  the symbol, usu. in the form of a circle, of a snake (or dragon) eating its own tail

uropygial

[see next]  characteristic of or relating to a bird's rump

uropygium

[Gk ouropygion, fr. ouro- tail + pyge rump]  /YOOR uh PI jee um/

Ornith.  the fleshy and bony prominence at the posterior extremity of a bird's body that supports the tail feathers: the rump

ursprache

[G. ur-, original + sprache, speech]

usu. capitalized  a parent language: proto-language

urticate

to produce wheals or itching

ush

[back-formation from usher]  U.S. slang  to serve as an usher

usquebaugh

[fr. Irish Gaelic uisce beathadh, water of life, whiskey (translation of Medieval Latin aqua vitae)]

/OOS kwi bah/   Irish & Scot.  whiskey

usufruct

1) the legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something belonging to another

2) the right to use or enjoy something

uterine

[fr. L. uterinus]

1) of or relating to the uterus

2) having the same mother but different fathers   uterine brothers

3) being enclosed and dark; womblike

uxorial

[fr. L. uxori-us < uxor, wife]

1) of or pertaining to a wife  2) excessively fond of or submissive to a wife: uxorious

uxoricide

1) the murder of a wife by her husband  2) a wife murderer

uxorious

excessively fond of or submissive to a wife

uxorodespotism

ruthless, tyrannical domination by a wife  (see also maritodespotism)

uzzard

1) the letter z: izzard

2) a third-generation bastard

V

vagary

an erratic, extravagant or unpredictable manifestation, action or notion

vagrarious

nonce-word  vagrant, wandering

vagrom

[alteration of vagrant, in modern use only after Shakespeare]  /VAY grom/

1) vagrant, vagabond, wandering   You shall comprehend all vagrom men. - W. Shakespeare, Much Ado..

2) eccentric, erratic

vagulate

nonce-word  to wander in a vague manner; to waver  (used only in the writings of Virginia Woolf)

vail

[aphetic var. of avail]  [n] a tip; gratuity

valetudinarian

a person of weak or sickly constitution

vampirarchy

[vampire + -archy, rule of]  exploitative rule comparable to rule by vampires

vanishment

[vanish + -ment]  an act of vanishing or state of having vanished

vapulate

[see next]  obs. rare  1) to beat or flog  2) to suffer vapulation

vapulation

[fr. L. vapulare, to be beaten]  obs.  a beating or flogging

vapulatory

rare  of or relating to flogging

variorum

[L. variorum, of various persons]

1) an edition or text with notes by different persons

2) an edition containing variant readings of the text

3) Sc., fig.  a variation

vastity

[fr. L. vastitas < vastus empty, waste]  archaic

1) a waste or desolate condition

all the vastity of the Arabian peninsula - C.M.Doughty

2) vastness, vastitude

vatic

prophetic, oracular

vaticide

[fr. L. vates seer, prophet; (trans.) bard, poet]

a murderer of prophets (Johnson, 1828} [the modern rendering, in most cases]

a murderer of poets {Johnson, 1836}

vaticinate

[fr. L. vaticinari ,to prophesy]  to prophesy; to predict

vaticination

a prediction; a prophecy

vauntless

[fr. vaunt, boasting or bragging + -less]  not bragging or boasting

vaward

the foremost part: forefront

"You that are old consider not the capacities of us that are young; you do measure the heat of our livers with the bitterness of your galls: and we that are in the vaward of our youth, I must confess, are wags too." -Shakespeare, Henry IV, part ii

vecordious

[ad. L. vecordia, fr. vecors: senseless, foolish]  /ve KOR dius/

rare  senseless, crazy, mad

vecordy

[see preceding]  very rare  madness, folly {Blount}

vegan

one who refrains from consuming (or using) animal products

velitation

[fr. L. velitari, to skirmish]  /vel i TEY shun/  now rare  a minor dispute or contest

velleity

the lowest degree of volition; a slight wish or tendency, inclination

velutinous

[fr. L. velutum, velvet]  /vuh LUT uh nus/

covered with dense, silky hairs: velvety

venatic

of, relating to, or used in hunting; fond of or living by hunting

vendible

[fr. L. vendere, to sell]

1) available or suitable for sale  vendible produce

2) of a kind to command a cash return  vendible beauty

(also a jocular usage for vending)

vendictivolence

[fr. L. vindicta vengeance, after malevolence]

nonce-word  the desire of revenging oneself or of taking vengeance

vendition

[F. fr. L. vendere, to vend]  /ven DISH en/  the act of vending or selling; sale

venefic

having poisonous effects

vengeant

[fr. Anglo-Norman vengant < venger, to avenge]  archaic  avenging

venireman

member of a venire (panel from which a jury is drawn)

ventose

windy; flatulent

ventripotent

[see next]  taking a greedy delight in eating

ventripotential

[ad. F. ventripotent, fr. L. venter, belly + potens, powerful]

nonce-word  hving a large abdomen; big-bellied

venust

obs.  handsome, beautiful; elegant, graceful; comely in appearance

venustate

[L.]  obs.  to make beautiful, fair or sightly  {found in Blount's Glossographia (1656)}

venustation

a making handsome or beautiful

verbicide

a person who intentionally twists the meaning of a word

verbificent

[as if fr. L. verbificus, making or generating words (see Hobbes)]  /ver BIF i cent/

1) extremely liberal in making new words

2) using high-sounding or fabricated words where common ones would do

verbigeration

[fr. L. verbiger, carrying words]  the senseless repetition of stereotyped phrases, esp. as a symptom of mental illness

verborrhea

[fr. verbal diarrhea]  diarrhea of the mouth; cf. logorrhea

veridical

truthful, veracious; genuine

veriloquence

truthful speech; nothing but the truth

verisimilitude

the quality or state of being verisimilar (having the appearance of truth)

verklempt

[Yiddish]  (also ferklempt, etc.) overcome with emotion

vermian

relating to worms

vermicular

[fr. Latin vermiculus] 1) resembling a worm in form or motion  2) of, relating to, or caused by worms

vermiform

1) wormlike, shaped like a worm  2) useless, cf. vermiform appendix

The modern king has become a vermiform appendix: useless when quiet; when obtrusive, in danger of removal. -- Austin O'Malley

vernalagnia

spring fever

vernissage

a private showing or preview of an art collection

verrucose

covered with warty elevations

versal

[short for universal]  archaic  entire, whole

verso

[fr. L. vertere, to turn]  /VUR so/

1) the back side of a printed sheet  2) the left-hand page of an open book  (compare recto)

vertiginate

[fr. L. vertiginare < vertigo, a whirling around]  /ver TIJ uh nate/

rare  [adj] 'Turned round, giddy' {Webster, 1864}  [v] to whirl dizzily around, spin, twirl

vertiginous

[ad. L. vertigo, a whirling]  /ver TIJ uh nus/

1) revolving; whirling round  2) affected with vertigo or dizziness; giddy, dizzy  3) unstable

vespertine

[fr. L. vesper, evening]  relating to, or occurring in the evening

vespillo

[ad. L. vespillo; fr. vesper, evening]  also vespillon

obs. rare  he that carries forth dead bodies in the night to be buried, as they use in time of plague and great sickness {Blount, 1656}

vetanda

[fr. L. vetare, to forbid]  /ve TAN duh/  rare  forbidden things

vetust

old, ancient, antique

vexillology

[fr. L. vexillum flag + –ology]  the study of flags

viaggiatory

[fr. It. viaggiare to travel]  (nonce-word appropriated by G. Wolfe)

[adj] on the move; given to traveling around  [n] a journey

vibrissa

[L. vibrissae, nostril hairs]  /vie BRIS uh/  pl. vibrissae

one of the long stiff hairs that project from the snout or brow of most mammals, as the whiskers of a cat  (also transf., somewhat speciously)

videlicet

[L. contr. of videre licet, it is permitted to see]  abbr. viz .

that is to say: namely; used to introduce examples, lists, or items

viduity

[L. viduitas < vidua, widow]   /vi DOO i tee/  widowhood

vigesimal

relating to or based on the number 20

vigesimation

the act of putting to death every twentieth man (cf. vigesimal and decimation)

vigneron

[F. < vigne, vine]  /VEEN yuh RO(n)E/  winegrower, viticulturist

vilipend

[fr. L. vilipendo, to depreciate, despise]  treat as of small worth; contemn; disparage

vilipending

[see vilipend]  [adj] disparaging  [n] disparagement

vilipensive

[fr. L. vilipendere]  /vil ih PEN sive/  abusive

villatic

[fr. L. villaticus, of a country house < villa]  /vi LAD ik/  of a farm or village: rural, rustic

vincible

[fr. L. vincere, to conquer]  /VIN(t) suh bul/

capable of being overcome or subdued

vinolency

[fr. L. vinolentia]  obs.  drunkenness

vinous

[fr. L .vinosus < vinum, wine]   /VI nus/

1) of or relating to wine

2) showing the efects of the use of wine  3) the color of wine

violaceous

[L. violaceus, violet-colored]  of a violet color, bluish purple

viraginity

masculine characteristics in a woman

viraginous

characteristic of a virago

virago

1) a woman of great stature, strength and courage

2) a loud overbearing woman: termagant

virgule

Printing  a diagonal mark ( / ): slash; cf. solidus

visuriency

[fr. L. visere, to behold + -ency]  obs. nonce-word  the desire of seeing

vitulation

obs, rare  a public thanksgiving or festival

vituperate

to abuse or censure severely or abusively: berate

vivandière

[F. < masc. vivandier, sutler]

a woman who formerly followed an army or maintained a store on an army post to sell provisions to the soldiers

vivarium

[L. park, preserve < vivus, alive]  /vi VAR ee um/

a place, especially an indoor enclosure, for keeping and raising living animals and plants under natural conditions for observation or research

vivificent

[fr. L. vivus, alive]  obs.  living

vivisepulture

burying alive

vizard

disguise

vocabularian

[vocabulary + -ian]  one who gives much or undue attention to words

vog

[blend of volcanic + smog]  Hawaiian coinage

air pollution caused by volcanic emissions

vogie

Scot.  1) vain, proud, conceited  2) merry, cheerful, delighted, gay

volage

[F.] giddy, foolish; fickle, inconsistent (in later literary use reintroduced from French); also in comb. volage-brained

volentine

[alteration of OF volatile, perhaps influenced by volent]

obs. rare, collect.  birds, fowls

volitant

[fr. L. volitare, to fly to and fro]  /VOL i tnt/

1) flying or capable of flying  2) moving about rapidly, to and fro

volitation

the act or power of flying

volplane

[F. vol plané, gliding flight]  1) to glide in or as if in an airplane  2) to make one's way be gliding

volte-face

a facing about esp in policy: about-face

vomitacious

[vomit + -acious]  (see also vomitous)  vomit-inducing; nauseating

vomitory

the entrance piercing the banks of seats of a stadium

vorlage

the position of a skier leaning forward from the ankles, usually without lifting the heels from the skis

vorticity

[fr. L. vortic-, vortex + -ity]  the state of a fluid in vortical motion

vortical : of, like or pertaining to a vortex: swirling

vorticity is the twirlness of a fluid - C. Tollefsen

votaress

a female votary

vouchsafe

to grant as a privilege or special favor

voussoir

[F.]  /vu SWAR/  one of the wedge-shaped pieces forming an arch or vault

vril

[coined by Bulwer-Lytton] a mysterious force imagined as having been discovered by the people described in The Coming Race; the fundamental resonant energy which is inherent to planetary structure {Tesla Society Scientific Dict.}

vug

a small unfilled cavity in a lode or in rock

vulpine

1) of, relating to, or resembling a fox

2) foxy, crafty

W

wabbit

[origin uncertain]  Scot.  tired out, exhausted; slightly ill

waesucks

Scot. interj.  used to express pity

wagon-lit

[F., fr. wagon, railroad car + lit, bed]  a railroad sleeping car

Waikikamukau

NZ slang  /why-kick-a-moo-cow/  mythical town that is so remote it makes Eketahuna look like a metropolis: Podunk

waldo

[fr. the name of Waldo F. Jones, the inventor of such gadgets in a science-fiction story by Robert Heinlein]

a device for handling or manipulating objects by remote control

walla-walla

an unintelligible sound made by many people talking at once

wallah

a person who is associated with a particular work or who performs a particular duty or service - usually used in combination; e.g., the wwftd master is a word wallah

wally

Brit slang  an idiot or imbecile

wallydraigle

Scot.  a feeble, imperfectly developed, or slovenly creature

Walpurgisnacht

1) the eve of May Day on which witches are held to ride to an appointed rendezvous

2) something (as an event or situation) having a nightmarish quality

wamble

to feel nausea; rumble ; to move unsteadily or with a weaving or rolling motion

wanker

Brit slang  1) a contemptible person, usu. a man: jerk  2) a masturbator

wantwit

[want + wit]  one who lacks wit or sense; a fool, blockhead

waveson

wreckage floating on the sea: flotsam (compare jetsam)

wax

[of obscure origin; perh. fr. phrase to wax angry]

Brit. informal, old-fash.  a fit of rage or temper

wayzgoose

a printer's annual dinner or excursion [the name for an entertainment given by a master printer to his workmen each year on or about St Bartholomew's Day (24 August), marking the end of summer and the beginning of the season of working by candlelight]

wazzock

[origin unknown]  UK informal  a stupid or annoying person

weasy

a spurious word in dictionaries, based on a misreading of 'wealy' in Joye's "The exposicion of Daniel the prophete"; hence weasiness (wealines[s]) from the same source.

[?] Given to sensual indulgence; gluttonous  {Webster's Revised, 1913}

wegotism

[jocular blend of we + egotism]  an obtrusive and too frequent use of the editorial we; hence, wegotist

welkin

1) the vault of heaven; the sky

2) the upper air, sky; air

weltanschauung

[G.] a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world, esp. from a specific standpoint: world-view

weltschmerz

[G.] 1) mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state

2) a mood of sentimental sadness

wergild

money paid by a killer's family to the family of the victim to prevent a blood feud; the cash value of a man's life

wesort

[probably from 'we sort' (i.e., our sort)]  usually capitalized

one of a group of people of mixed white-black-Indian ancestry living in southern Maryland

whamboozled

[wham + bamboozled, coined by Norman Chad]  hoodwinked and eliminated (from a poker tournament)

whangdoodle

1) a fanciful creature of undefined nature 2) stuff and nonsense

wheeze

[in this sense, orig. Theatrical slang, a joke or comic gag introduced into a performance]

Brit. slang  a catchphrase constantly repeated; more widely, a trick or dodge frequently used

whelm

to cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect, destroy, overpower; hence, whelming : overwhelming

whiffled

[origin obscure; cf. squiffy]  intoxicated, drunk  (whiffed in Wodehouse?)

whiffler

[fr. wifle, battle-ax]  Brit.  one that clears the way for a procession

whigmaleerie

Scot.  1) whim  2) an odd or fanciful contrivance: gimcrack

whilom

[fr. OE. hwílum, later]  /HWI lum/

archaic  [adv] while; formerly  [adj] former  (see also erstwhile and quondam)

whinge

Brit.  to complain fretfully: whine; hence whinging

whipsloven

[whip + sloven, a knave]  (also whypsloven)

obs. ? a sloven who deserves whipping

whoopensocker

regional U.S. dial.  something extraordinary of its kind, esp. a large or strong drink

whoremonger

a man consorting with whores or given to lechery

widdershins

(also withershins)  [adj] moving in a counterclockwise (or left-handed) direction, contrary to the apparent course of the sun (considered as unlucky or sinister); unlucky, ill-fated, relating to the occult

widdiful

[fr. Sc. widdy, a rope for hanging]

Scot.  (n) one who deserves hanging, a gallows-bird; a scamp, rascal

(a) fit for a halter, deserving to be hanged; scampish, rascally

widdy

Scot.  a hangman's noose

williwaw

sudden gust of cold air; violent commotion

wimble-wamble

[redupl. of wamble]  Brit. dial.  to roll about in walking [n] the ordinary crowd

windigo

(also wendigo) /WIN-di-go/

(in the folklore of the Ojibwa and other American Indians) a cannibalistic giant, the transformation of a person who has eaten human flesh

winx

obs.  to bray like an ass  (Brit. dialect, related to whinny)

witter

[see next]  to chatter or mutter; to grumble; to speak with annoying lengthiness on trivial matters

wittering

[perh. fr. Sc. whitter, to warble or twitter]  U.K. informal, colloq.  continuous pointless chatter: chattering

witticaster

[fr. wit or witty, after criticaster; fr. L. -aster, expressing incomplete resemblance]

nonce-word  a petty or inferior wit, a witling

wittol

1) a husband who accepts his wife's infidelity

2) a stupid person; a person with no wits, not even a half-wit

witzelsucht

a morbid tendency to pun, make poor jokes, and tell pointless stories

wlatsome

loathsome

wodge

[alt. of wedge]  /wodj/  UK informal  a large piece or amount of something

womoonless

nonce-word   jocular combination of womanless and moonless

Croak of vast manless moonless womoonless marsh. - J. Joyce, Ulysses

wonk

a nerd

woodpusher

[blend of wood + pusher]  slang  a poor chess player; a patzer

woodshedding

[vbl. n.] 1) the dispensing of punishment

2a) the practice or rehearsal of music  b) spontaneous or improvised barber-shop singing

wootz

[perh. a corruption of Canarese ukku, steel]  /wootz/

a type of steel imported from the East Indies, valued for making edge tools; Indian steel

wordanista

[coined by Steven Colbert, after fashionista, etc.; -ista has been given a pejorative twist in English]  /word uh NEE sta/

someone who tells others what is or is not a word, based on what they have read in books

wordster

[word + -ster]  /WORD ster/  one that is adept in the use of words, esp. in an empty or overblown manner

worthful

having worth or value; valuable; precious

wouldingness

[fr. woulding (desiring) + -ness]  obs. nonce-word  desire, inclination: velleity

wowser

an obtrusively puritanical person

wreak

/reek/  1) to inflict upon a person  2) to express; vent  3) to cause

writative

[write + -ative, (after talkative)]  /WRITE uh tiv/  inclined to much writing

writhen

[pa. pple. of writhe, fr. OE writhan]  being twisted or contorted

wrongeousness

[after righteousness]  the state or condition of being wrong; wrongfulness

X

Xanthippe

[Socrate's scolding wife]  any nagging, peevish or irritable woman

xebec

a 3-masted Mediterranean sailing ship

xenodochiophobia

the fear of foreign hospitality (worry about foreign hotels)

xenodochium

[L. from Gk]  a house of reception for strangers and pilgrims; a hostel, guest-house, esp. in a monastery  (also called xenodochion)

xeric

characterized by or requiring only a small amount of moisture

xertz

to gulp down, swallow quickly and greedily

xi

14th letter of the Greek alphabet

xiphoid

ensiform (sword-shaped)

xylocephalous

[fr. Gk xulo- < xulon, wood + kephale, head]  /zy lo suh FAL us/  (also perh. xylocephalic)

wooden-headed

Y

Yarborough

a totally worthless hand in whist or bridge

yare

lively; maneuverable

yataghan

[Turkish yatagan]  /YA tuh gan/

a Turkish sword or scimitar having a double-curved blade and (often) an eared pommel, but lacking a handle guard

yclept

[past participle of obs. clepe (to name or call)]  /ee KLEPT/  named, called

yclyketed

[olde English]   /ee KLEE ted/?  latched

yegg

a criminal, esp a safecracker or burglar

yentz

[Yiddish, from yentzen, to copulate]  to cheat, to swindle (also, to fornicate)  cf. screw

yestreen

Scot.  yesterday evening

yirn

/yurn/  to whine; to pout or show petulance; hence, yirning: whining

ylem

[fr. med.L. hylem, matter]  /I lem/

Cosmology  in the big-bang theory, the primordial matter of the universe, which existed before formation of the elements

yobbo

Brit.  hoodlum

yoctosecond

one septillionth of a second

yogibogeybox

[yogi + bogey + box]  nonce-word in Joyce  the apparatus of a spiritualist

yomp

[Brit., from the Falklands War]  to march with heavy equipment over difficult terrain; to cover a certain distance in this way

yonderly

[fr. yonder]  archaic or Brit. dial.  distant, reserved, sullen; depressed, gloomy, melancholy

yonic

having to do with the vagina (like phallic, only female)

yonks

[perhaps related to donkey's years]  UK informal  a very long time

yonner

Brit slang  a Lancashlre hillbilly

yosenabe

[Jap.]  /YO seh NAHB a/

a soup consisting especially of seafood and vegetables cooked in a broth; a Japanese equivalent of bouillaibaise

yowie

a large, hairy, man-like creature supposedly inhabiting south-eastern Australia

Z

zabernism

obs.  the misuse of military power or authority; bullying, agression

zaddik

a just and virtuous person

zaftig

pleasingly plump

zarf

an ornamental metal holder for a handleless coffee cup

zed

chiefly Brit.  the letter z

zeitgeist

the general intellectual, moral and cultural climate of an era

zemblanity

[fr. Zembla, an Artic island to the N. of Russia once used for nuclear testing]

the inexorable discovery of what we don't want to know (contrast serendipity)

zenzizenzizenzic

the eighth power of a number

zeptosecond

one sextillionth of a second

zerk

[fr. Oscar U. Zerk, American inventor]  a grease fitting

zetetic

[fr. Gk zetetikos: inquisitive, keen]  /zuh TET ik/

1) proceeding by inquiry  2) skeptic

zetetically

skeptically

zhoosh

[fr. Romani cant]  UK (gay) slang  to tweak, finesse or improve something (for example, one's hair)

zoanthropy

the delusion that one is an animal

zob

a weak or contemptible person; a fool

zoetic

[fr. Gk zoe, life + -etic]  pertaining to life: living, vital

zoilism

[after Zoilos (Zoilus in L.), Homer's witty, shrewd, and spiteful grammarian]  carping criticism; detraction

Zoilist

[after Zoilus, Gk critic famous for criticism of Homer]  a carping critic

zomotherapy

the treatment of disease with a diet of raw meat

zoosemiotics

[fr. Gk zoi-, animal + semiotics, the study of signs and symbols]  /ZO uh sem ee OT ics/

the scientific study of signaling behavior in and across animal species

zucchetto

[It.]  R.C. Church  (also zuchetta, -etto)

the skullcap of an ecclesiastic; the pope's is white, a cardinal's red, a bishop's purple, a priest's black

zugzwang

[G.] in chess, when all possible moves weaken the position

zumbooruk

[ad. Hindustani zamburaka]  a small cannon fired from the back of a camel

zumologist

[fr. Gk zume, to ferment + -ologist]

"One who is skilled in the fermentation of liquors." - Webster's, 1828

zwischenzug

[G.] in chess, a temporizing move (i.e., a delay in capturing, usually via a check)

zymologist

[see zumologist]  one skilled in the science of fermentation

zymology

a science that deals with fermentation

zymurgy

the branch of applied chemistry dealing with fermentation processes

zythum

[fr. Gk zuthos, beer]  /ZAI thum/

in ancient Egypt: a kind of malt beer

(much of the word's continuing use is due to its status as the last word listed in several dictionaries, as in the online OED)

zyxt

[fr. Kentish zi, ze  to see]  obs. Kentish  thou seest  (also zixt, zist)

zyzzogeton

a genus of large South American leafhoppers  (the last word in W3)

zzxjoanw

/ziks-JO-an/

non-word  a Maori drum  {Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary}

The Music-Lovers Encyclopedia by Rupert Hughes (all editions from 1914 to 1956) has this entry: "zzxjoanw (shaw) Maori. 1. Drum. 2. Fife. 3. Conclusion."  According to Philip Cohen in Word Ways (Nov. 1976), there are several problems with this entry, notably the fact that it's an impossible Maori word, both in spelling and pronunciation. Cohen suspects that Hughes made up the word as a joke. In his book, Earth, David Brin has a Maori character playing a zzxjoanw. Asked about this, Brin said that he'd gotten the word from Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary.

alpha (top)

[ home ] [ index ]