Porn for Logophiles

month

August 2012

5 posts

con·ge·ries (kon-juh-rees | kɒndʒəriz ) Latin noun a collection, a mass of heterogeneous parts, an assemblage, aggregation or heap Each one is a miniature world unto itself, a tiny functioning mechanism,a congeries of minute and mysterious moving parts.

ab·ro·gate (ab-ruh-gayt | æbrəgeɪt) Latin verb to put an end to or abolish by formal means You cannot abrogate your responsibility in this matter

in·sou·ci·ance (in-soo-see-uns | ɪnsusiəns) French noun indifference, lack of concern The cat’s air of insouciance was shattered after we adopted a puppy as well.

Hello again all, hope you’re well. Tumblr has kindly reminded me that I’m neglecting you terribly, so expect some more posts starting tomorrow evening (it’s late here) and this time let’s see if I can actually maintain it for more than a week because goodness knows I’ve been here nearly a year and should be able to keep up by now. Our submissions box is always open...

Nobody saw that, okay?

June 2012

7 posts

par·si·mo·ni·ous (par-su-mow-nee-us | pɑrsəmoʊniəs) Late Middle English, from Latin adjective excessively frugal or stingy This parsimonious behaviour is going to have to continue until I’ve finished my degree and have a real job.

dil·e·tante (dill-uh-tant | dɪlətɑnt) Italian, from Latin noun one who takes up or dabbles in an activity or art solely for amusement There’s always the odd dilettante who shows up for every other lesson and never does any real work.

sat·ur·nine (sat-er-nine | sætərnaɪn) late Middle English, from Medieval Latin adjective reserved, reluctant, sluggish His saturnine disposition makes him a very relaxing pet to keep around.

ad·i·pose (ad-i-pohs | ædɪpoʊs) Latin adjective fatty, consisting of or resembling fat Even the dog wouldn’t try the terrible adipose monstrosity I’d managed to cook up.

sin·u·ous (sin-yoo-us | sɪnyuəs) Latin adjective 1) composed of many curves, twists and turns 2) indirect or devious The prosecution’s bewilderingly sinuous line of questioning eventually lead to the accused accidentally admitting to the murder.

pel·lu·cid (pel-loo-sid | pəlusɪd) Latin adjective transparent or translucent, allowing the passage of light, clear (can be used of writing, an argument etc in this case). The treasure glittered under the pellucid waters. (submitted by Tinypapercat from someone else’s computer, sorry I didn’t queue anything before I left!)

Tumblr, please, don’t mix up my personal and this blog. I’m sure these lovely logophiles don’t want to read me burbling about my food allergies. Sorry all, let me queue up some sexy words for you as penance.

May 2012

1 post

Hello all, hope you’re well. Just a quick note to say my last exam for a while is today so I should be able to queue some more delightful sexy words tonight, but our submissions box is always open and we’d love to hear from you! If you can’t provide everything in the guidelines (like the IPA, I know I find that ridiculously tricky) feel free to just have a stab at it and let us...

April 2012

6 posts

o·ti·ose (oh-tee-ose | oʊtioʊs) Latin adjective superfluous, useless or ineffectual Most of his otiose rambling went in one ear and out of the other.

Anonymous asked: What the fuck these aren't real words

red·o·lent (red-uh-lunt | rɛdələnt) Middle English, from Latin adjective 1) pleasantly smelling, or having the pleasant odour of (usually in the phrase “redolent of”) 2) suggestive or reminiscent of Her skin was redolent of the oil paints she’d been toiling over all day.

syn·a·nim (sin-uh-nim | sɪnənɪm) Latin, from Greek noun a word having the same meaning as another the writer cannot spell. It’s a synanym for veleity, or possibly velleity, I can never remember how many ls to put in.

sar·chas·m (sar-kaz-um | sɑrkæzəm) Latin, from Greek noun the yawning void between you and the idiot taking your irony seriously The gaping sarchasm did hinder the conversation a little, but my point got through eventually.

ig·no·ra·nus (ig-nuh-ray-nus | ɪgnəreɪnəs ) Latin noun one who is both ignorant and an arsehole. He kept insisting evolution was made up, what an ignoranus.

March 2012

3 posts

Anonymous asked: for those of us who blacklist porn, could you maybe not tag posts as "word porn" please and thank you

um·brage (um-brij | ʌmbrɪdʒ) Late Middle English, from Old French noun 1) offence, annoyance or displeasure 2) the shade offered by leaves of foliage, having a shady appearance The suggestion that books were a waste of time was met with unbridled umbrage.

heg·e·mon·ic (hej-uh-mon-ik | hɛdʒəmɒnɪk) Greek adjective dominant or influencing over others The domineering, hegemonic attitude did nothing to improve relationships between the two parties.

February 2012

4 posts

mer·e·tri·cious (mer-uh-tri-shus | mer-ə-tri-shəs) Latin adjective of or relating to a prostitute, OR something tawdrily and falsely attractive or superficially significant. The forged coins gleamed like gold but were entirely meretricious. Submitted by Coeurdelhistoire

dec·i·mate (dess-uh-mayt | dɛsəˌmeɪt ) Latin verb to destroy or remove ten percent of something. “I intend to decimate my word count today.” Submitted by the-unholy-grail

vel·le·i·ty (vuh-lee-it-tee | vəliɪti) Latin noun 1) Volition in its weakest form 2) a mere wish, unaccompanied by the effort to obtain it Until recently, my desire to submit to this blog was little more than velleity. Submitted by khittyhawk

lo·den (loh-den | loʊdn ) German noun A durable, water-repellent, coarse woolen fabric used chiefly for coats and adjective A deep olive green, sometimes with gray undertones. That dress is not quite green yet not quite gray, so it must be loden. Submitted by eyeslikethenight

January 2012

7 posts

cock·a·trice (kok-uh-tris | kɒkətrɪs) Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin noun a legendary monster with a deadly glance, supposedly hatched by a serpent from the egg of a cock, and commonly represented with the head, legs, and wings of a cock and the body and tail of a serpent He gave me a poisonous stare comparable to that of a cockatrice. Submitted by deadstillcurious

vig·il (vij-uhl, vij-ill | vɪdʒəl, vɪdʒɪl) Latin noun wakefulness maintained for any reason during the normal hours for sleeping The son kept vigil at the bedside of his dying mother. Submitted by deadstillcurious

pro·pen·si·ty (pruh-pen-si-tee | prəpɛnsɪti) Latin noun a natural inclination or predisposition toward something, (obsolete) a predisposition or partiality toward something favourable I have a propensity for using sexy words. (see also: proclivity [link to follow]) Submitted by Elisa, via email.

mi·as·ma (my-az-muh, mee-az-muh | maɪæzmə, miæzmə) Greek noun 1) noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere 2) a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere The miasma in the air was indicative of the approaching zombie hoard.

tor·tu·ous (tor·choo·us | tɔrtʃuəs) Middle English, from Latin adjective 1) full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked. 2) not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech; intricate; circuitous. 3) deceitfully indirect or morally crooked, as proceedings, methods, or policy; devious. “In cities like Athens, poor houses lined narrow and tortuous streets...

pres·by·o·pi·a (prezz-bee-oh-pee-uh | prɛzbioʊpiə) Latin noun a visual condition which becomes apparent especially in middle age and in which loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye causes defective accommodation and inability to focus sharply for near vision. His presbyopia forces him to hold his books at arm’s length. Submitted by sandcastleprincess

Happy New Year, Logophiles!

December 2011

1 post

So, I need to apologize.

Posting has obviously been slow as balls and alarmingly infrequent lately, which I feel bad about, so I’m sorry. This semester has been brutal. The good news, however, is that finals season is approaching, after which I (should) have time to actually approve your submissions/find sexy ass words we can all ogle over. Thanks again for being awesome, Logophiles. I look forward to eventually...

November 2011

2 posts

Anonymous asked: Not only do I like your blog (haha I found it) but I also am OBSESSED with you secretly. Ok here we go.. I got this idea from a Tumblr spam I got once lol.. I think you like me too and you were always too shy to admit it :3 go to crushmatches(dõt)com (wtf it wont let me link regular) and make an account there. Then look up the profile 'gottagetme19' (me obviously) I left body...

ambisinistrous (am-bi-sin-is-truhs | /ˌæmbɪˈsɪnɪstrəs) Adjective clumsy or unskillful with both hands I never could read my ambisinistrous friend’s handwriting, no matter which hand he used. Antonym: ambidextrous Source: Dictionary.com and QI

October 2011

21 posts

su·per·cil·i·ous ( soo-per-sill-i-us | supərsɪliəs ) Latin adjective arrogant, disdainful or haughty, cold or patronising He answered my question with nothing more than a supercilious glare.

vo·cif·er·ous ( voh-siff-er-us | voʊsɪfərəs ) Latin adjective noisy or clamourous, excessively vocal, either marked by or given to vehement outcry. The vociferous greetings every time I return are my favourite thing about keeping parrots.

quix·o·tic ( kwiks-o-tick | kwɪksɒtɪk ) from the name “Don Quixote” adjective behaving in a manner reminiscent of Don Quixote, i.e. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic, impulsive, unpredictable or impractical. She is a quixotic mixture of illusion and reality.

a·poc·ry·phal ( uh-poc-ruff-ull | əpɒkrəfəl ) Medieval Latin adjective dubious, of doubtful authenticity All of these claims are wildly apocryphal.

bell·i·ger·ent (bell-i-jer-unt | bɛlɪdʒərənt ) Latin adjective aggressive and hostile, warlike, She’s terribly belligerent if you wake her before six.

ses·quip·e·da·li·an (sess-kwip-e-day-lee-un | sɛskwɪpɛdeɪliən) Latin adjective (of a word) polysyllabic, (of a person) given to using polysyllabic words. Being almost unnaturally sesquipedalian, he is unbeatable at scrabble.

cantabile [kahn-tah-bi-ley, -bee-, kuhn-; It. kahn-tah-bee-le] /kɑnˈtɑbɪˌleɪ, -bi-, kən-; It. kɑnˈtɑbiˌlɛ/ Italian [from Latin] adjective: songlike and flowing in style. Children can turn the most mundane sentences into rather cantabile phrases. OR From gentle, catabile streams to harsh staccato passages, his compositions test the pianist’s skill, and often, the listener’s...

be·spoke [bih-spohk | /bɪˈspoʊk/] British English adjective custom-made, made to order Only on Etsy could I get a bespoke lime-green tuxedo.

covet (cuh-vet | kʌvɛt ) Middle English verb to desire inordinately (sometimes to desire wrongly), to wish for eagerly Every time I eat the perfect pastry, I can’t help but covet the recipe.

rib·ald (rib-ull-d | rɪbəld) Middle English adjective crude, offensive, vulgar or indicent The ribald story, complete with gestures, left the entire office red-faced.

slake (slayk | sleɪk) Middle English verb to quench or satisfy, to make less intense Downing a bottle of maple syrup did nothing to slake my thirst.

bur·geon (burr-jun | bɜrdʒən) Middle English verb to grow rapidly, to proliferate, to flourish He harbours a burgeoning desire to learn Finnish.

e·pit·o·me (eh-pit-uh-me | ɛpɪtəmi) Latin noun the perfect or typical example, the embodiment My cat is the epitome of laziness.

sac·cha·rine (sack-kuh-rin | sækərɪn) (sack-kuh-reen | sækərin) (sack-kuh-rain | sækəraɪn) Latin adjective 1) overly sweet and / or sugary 2) overly sentimental I was overwhelmed by the saccharine cuteness of this show.