Accouchers
Helping
women give birth is not solely done by midwives. There are male midwives, too.
These mid-men are referred to as accouchers.
Anosmia
Suffering
from this condition will not allow you to enjoy the smell of roses and many
other things around you. Anosmia can be a temporary or permanent olfactory
disorder where a person is unable to perceive odors.
Ageusia
Life can be
bland for people who cannot taste anything at all (sour, bitter, sweet, salty
and savory or umami). This inability of the tongue to detect taste is ageusia.
But if only partial loss of taste is present, the right term to use is
hypogeusia.
Caruncula
Do you know
where your tear and sweat glands are in your eyes? They are in the caruncula.
This is the pink flesh that you find in the inner corners of your eyes.
Cobbler
You
probably thought a cobbler is a shoemaker. No, he is not. A cobbler repairs
shoes. But what do you call someone who makes shoes (and leather harnesses)?
That person is a cordwainer (from the French cordonnier).
Contrail
A contrail
is often seen when you look up high into a clear and blue sky. The contrail is
the linear cloud that forms just behind planes. Why contrail? It’s the
shortened form of condensation trail. The vapor coming out of the aircraft’s
exhaust turns into ice crystals due to a process of condensation. Who knew men
could create clouds?
Cryptozoology
Scientists
involved in cryptozoology are those who chase after the Loch Ness monster,
Bigfoot and other mysterious animals that may or may not exist.
Dragées
The tiny
bronze, silver or gold balls that cake makers use to decorate their cake
masterpieces are called dragées. These are made of sugar and often resemble
ball bearings. However, other sugar coated treats like sugared almonds as well
as medicinal/therapeutic pills are also called dragées.
Dewclaw
Canines
have dewclaws. A declaw is a very small talon, a fifth claw that you can find
way above and to the inner side of a dog’s toes. The jury is still out on
whether the declaw is useful or not to dogs.
Ellipsis
If you like
to put a series of periods or other marks at the end of your written thoughts,
then you should know that this is called an ellipsis. Ellipsis can indicate an
unfinished thought or an omission of words.
Frog
When you
think “frog” you think of the amphibian. But a frog is also a term that refers
to the device found at the meeting of railroad tracks. This device allows the
wheels from one track to branch towards the other track.
Graphology
Want to
know what your handwriting reveals about you? See a graphologist. He can tell
you your characteristics by simply examining your handwriting.
Halieutics
If you love
to fish, then you must be skilled at halieutics. This refers to the art,
practice or activity of fishing. Who knows? You might even dabble in
ichthyology, the study of fishes.
Interrobang
The chances
that you know this will be low unless you love your punctuation marks. When you
use a question mark and an exclamation mark side by side, in that order after a
statement, then you are using an interrobang. “He found the snake where?!” is
an example. ‘Interro’ is for the interrogative punctuation, which is the
question mark. ‘Bang’ refers to the exclamation mark. Other words for
exclamation mark are: exclamation point and dembanger.
Muselets
Corks on
champagne bottles normally have muselets on, an invention that has celebrated
its sesquicentennial back in 1994. These are the wire enclosures that keep the
corks from popping out. What's sesquicentennial? It refers to the 150th year
anniversary.
To continue
the subject on wine, if you are wondering if there is a term to mean the space
inside the wine bottle what is not filled with wine, then wonder no more.
That's the ullage.
Obdormition and paresthesia
Either
terms refer to the pins and needles sensation you experience when your leg or
another part of your body remains unmoving for a long period of time. When this
happens to the leg, people say their leg fell asleep.
Pauciloquent
Do you know
any pauciloquents? They are people who are not fond of using too many words
when they speak. Sometimes, the situation dictates whether it is more prudent
to a pauciloquent rather a blabbermouth, rambler or windbag.
Pintle
Doors with
hinges have pintles. These are the bolts or pins that hold the door hinges
together allowing the door to open and close with ease.
Thingummy
Sometimes
people can’t remember specific names for things or they totally don’t have a name
for them. That’s when people refer to these things as thingummies (plural of
thingummy). Other words synonymous to thingummy are: doodad, doohickey,
doojigger, thingamabob and thingamajig.
Waxing and waning
Waxing is
when the moon becomes brighter, moving towards the full moon stage. Waning is
when the brightness of the moon decreases. You can use these two words together
in one sentence if you want to say that something is growing bigger (or is
increasing) and then getting smaller (or is decreasing).
Yarmulke and zucchetto
Both are
skullcaps worn for religious reasons. The yarmulke is worn by mostly male
Orthodox Jews and Conservative Jews in synagogues or even at home. On the other
hand, the zucchetto is worn by the Roman Catholic priests. The Pope wears a
white zucchetto. While other members of the clergy wear other colors. Muslims
do not wear skullcaps. Just the same, it is important to know that Muslim men
wear the keffiyeh on their heads while Muslim women wear the hijab.
Zarf
Does your
favorite coffee shop barista ever ask you if you need a zarf? Probably not. The
zarf was originally a holder for drinking cups that do not have handles. These
were made of metal and originated in the Middle East. Modern day zarfs are
called coffee cup sleeves and are made of (or at least they should be)
recyclable materials.
Learning
new things, whether it be new words, new skills, or new facts about yourself or
others is always a great thing. Make it a mission in life to keep on learning.
Start with updating your vocabulary and learning more about your own language
and how to make use of the many words to make your conversations and
communications more alive and interesting.
If you
missed the first installment of Little Known Words and More, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment