from time to time, I’m going to brows in the Oxford English Dictionary and find a few words I feel are in need of recovery, reuse, or at least be admired as beautiful shiny things from our past language. Here’s a few to play with, all you wordsmiths out there…
wappenshawing, a periodical muster or review of the men under arms in a particular lordship or district. dating from late Middle English.
wanweird, misfortune.
wanwordy, worthless.
Wanworth, a low price, a bargain.
Weregild, the price of a man’s life. 🙂
Vartabed, a member of an order of celibate priests of the Armenian Church.
Varvel, a metal ring freq. of silver attached to the end of a hawk’s jess and serving to connect it with the leash, usually engraved with owner’s name.
Vaticinate, fortell by prophetic inspiration.
Usucapion, acquisition of right or title to property by uninterrupted possession for a prescribed term.
thimblerig, a sleight of hand game or trick usually played with three inverted thimbles and a pea.
Thesaurus, dictionary of synonyms and antonyms, from Greek: treasury, storehouse, store.
thewless, lacking moral courage, dissolute, profligate.
It is my thewless vaticination that your weregild will hardly be wanwordy.
It is my thewless vaticination that your weregild will hardly be wanwordy.
I actually knew varvel, thewless, and (of course) weregild.
I actually knew varvel, thewless, and (of course) weregild.
My old man’s favourite word in the OED (and apparently the longest, at 29 letters) is floccinaucinihilipilification, which is the act of deciding something as worthless.
My old man’s favourite word in the OED (and apparently the longest, at 29 letters) is floccinaucinihilipilification, which is the act of deciding something as worthless.