Porn for Logophiles

month

October 2011

21 posts

e·vis·cer·ate (eh-viss-er-ate | evɪsəreɪt ) Latin verb to remove the entrails, internal organs or ‘viscera’. I will eviscerate you if you drop one more of my books in the bath.

Anonymous asked: So I tried submitting a text post (meaning I never actually hit submit) but I'm a bit challenged when it comes to understanding those simple concepts. Anyway! I would still like to see the word 'isangelous' up here. It's an obsolete word, not defined in Oxford, but it means 'equal to the angels' and... yeah. So there you go! Do with that what you will.

er·ro·ne·ous (er-roh-nee-us | ɛɹəʊnɪəs) Middle English, from Latin adjective mistaken, derived from error, incorrect, inaccurate. He made the erroneous assumption that I am vegetarian.

September 2011

31 posts

The lovely punkass-book-jockey encouraged us to introduce ourselves, so hello ^^ I am tinypapercat, an English Language and Linguistics student from Great Britain. I am also monumentally tired after a very long week (and about to fall asleep at the desk oh dear), but I have been saving up words to define so tomorrow I’ll be able to queue a good dozen gorgeous sexy words for everyone. ...

at·a·rax·i·a (at-uh-rak-see-uh | ˌætəˈræksiə) Greek noun 1) calmness untroubled by mental or emotional disquiet 2) tranquility Jedi must reach a state of ataraxia to fully descend into mediation and connect with the Force. Submitted bycoeurdelhistoire.

tchotch·ke (chach-kuh | ˈtʃɑtʃkə) Yiddish noun trinket, trivial object, novelty, knickknack I brought back some tchotchkes as a souvenir for my nieces.

a·me·li·or·ate (a-meal-e-or-ate | əˈmilyəˌreɪt) French verb 1) make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better 2) To remedy a something Ron’s was often insensitive toward Hermione and it sometimes it took several months for him to ameliorate the situation.

Woop woop! We have two lovely new admins!

I’ll let each introduce him/herself on his/her own time, but I thought you guys should know : ) To everyone who applied, thank you so much; all your apps were great, but I really only needed to pick two people and these guys stuck out for one reason or another. So, let’s hear it for jdgentleman and tinypapercat! Congrats guys! Can’t wait to work with you!

Hey guys, last chance to submit an impromptu...

Just answer the following questions as briefly or in-depth as you want. 1) Why are you interested in helping operate this blog? 2) What do you think this job would entail? 3) Any special qualifications that you think make you an especially awesome candidate? 4) Favorite word and why. 5) How often would you be available to post and edit/approve submissions? If you have work/class, can you...

Interested in Co-Operating Porn for Logophiles?!

Apply Now! Seriously though. If you want to apply, send an ask to the blog and answer the following questions. 1) Why are you interested in helping operate this blog? 2) What do you think this job would entail? 3) Any special qualifications that you think make you an especially awesome candidate? 4) Favorite word and why. 5) How often would you be available to post and edit/approve...

stereotypenerd asked: I think I just had a wordgasm 83 This blog is pure epeolatry

awesomenessjunkie asked: Have you ever read Simon Hertnon's "Endangered Words?" It contains definitions and etymologies of 100 very obscure words. Sprezzatura, one of your recent posts, was among them.

ap·o·tro·pa·ic (ap-uh-truh-pey-ik | ˌapətrəˈpā-ik) Greek adjective supposedly having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck: apotropaic statues. Statues more than 3 millennia old found in Palestine may have been used as apotropaic or protective charms. Submitted by jdgentleman.

mel·lif·lu·ous (muh-lif-loo-uhs | məˈlɪfluəs) Middle English < Latin adjective 1) sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding 2) flowing with honey; sweetened with or as if with honey The most noteworthy thing about him is his mellifluous voice. Submitted by practicaljoke.

sprez·za·tu·ra (sprɛttsaˈtura) Italian, from Baldassare Castiglione’s “The Book of the Courtier.” noun studied nonchalance; perfect conduct or performance of something (as an artistic endeavor) without apparent effort The musician’s sprezzatura was made obvious to all after the first few measures of his performance. Submitted by sandcastleprincess.

zug·zwang (TSOOK-tsvahng | ˈtsukˌtsvɑŋ) German; Zug (move) + Zwang (constraint) noun 1) a situation in which a player is limited to moves that have a damaging effect verb 2) (tr) to maneuver (one’s opponent) into a zugzwang As she gazed irritably down at the chessboard, she realized that she had been steered into a zugzwang. Submitted by axhubs. (Source:...

ju-di-cious (joo-dish-uhs | dʒuˈdɪʃəs) Latin adjective 1) using or showing judgment as to action or practical expediency; discreet, prudent, or politic: judicious use of one’s money. 2) having, exercising, or characterized by good or discriminating judgment; wise, sensible, or well-advised: a judicious selection of documents. He was overly judicious with his finaces

rec-on-dite (rek-uhn-dahyt, ri-kon-dahyt | rɛkənˌdaɪt, rɪˈkɒndaɪt) Latin adjective 1) dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter: a recondite treatise. 2) beyond ordinary knowledge or understanding; esoteric: recondite principles. 3) little known; obscure: a recondite fact. certain books contain recondite information

Hello fellow Logophiles!

As you may have guessed, I’m the new addition to the blog, so please bear with me incase of mistakes, errors, and the usual you get when you’re new to something! Oh and please, get submitting again, so we can begin to get more terrific words for us to use in daily conversation!

per-pet-u-ate ( per-pech-oo-eyt | pərˈpɛtʃuˌeɪt) Latin verb (used without object) 1) to preserve from extinction or oblivion: to perpetuate one’s name 2) To indefinitely prolong an undesired stereotype, or unfounded belief 3) To make perpetual By bringing nothing to the party, he continued to perpetuate the idea that he was cheap.