Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Via’tic, a. relating to travelling.
Word in the Wild: She’d always been powerless to resist the lure of the faraway. First it was leaving the neighbourhood on her own, then it was biking to the next town over, and now it was the viatic call of a investigative journalism. She just couldn’t hold still.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Ubica’tion, n. relation as to place; whereness
Word in the Wild: Ilya often had trouble determining his own ubication, which is why three of his birthday gifts turned out to be compasses. The fourth was a GPS.
This word has wandered over to English from the modern Latin ubicātio, meaning in “a determinate place.” The root ubi means “place, position or location,” and if you add to it a que, making it ubīque, it suddenly means “everywhere,” which is how we get the word ubiquitous.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Salsu’ginous, a. a little saltish.
Word in the Wild: I’d really like to recommend that new restaurant on the corner since the owners are so friendly, but everything I’ve eaten there is so salsuginous I just can’t.
The above meaning of salsuginous is obsolete (and even at its height it was generally used to refer to something brackish), but that’s a shame considering how much extra salt is hanging out in food these days. So let’s run amok and start using it as The Vest-Pocket Dictionary suggests—for anything that’s a bit on the saltish side! I’ll start: “Mmm… I sure could go for some delicious salsuginous potato chips about now.”
The OED shows that this word is still, rarely, in use, but only in one particular botanical context: it’s used to describe plants that grow in soil saturated with salt water.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Quod’libet, n. a nice point for discussion.
Word in the Wild: Their discussion came to a standstill after Monique’s shocking confession, and the party goers looked desperately about for someone to save them from the conversational vacuum that followed. Lucky for them, Punam was in attendance and saved them all by tossing out a fascinating quodlibet.
The word quodlibet comes from Latin and means “whatever you please.” (Quod = what and libet = it pleases.)
And while The Vest-Pocket Dictionary gives us this colloquial use of the term quodlibet, the OED defines it as a specifically academic excercise wherein a student must answer any question an audience member wishes to ask about a particular field of study (which sounds a lot like a modern-day comprehensive exam).
Interestingly, the meaning of this word changes altogether should you add an s: according to The Vest-Pocket Dictionary a quodlibets is a confused or disconnected collection. And according to the OED a quodlibet (without the s) can also be a quibbling point of argument or a musical composition containing more than one melody.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Oxyph’ony, n. shrillness of voice.
Word in the Wild: Alex wanted to enter the political life, but was held back by a devastating case of oxyphony.
This word hails from at least 1769, according to the OED, and is a compound of oxy-, meaning keen, sharp or acid, and -phony, meaning sound or tone.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Noctil’ucous, a. shining in the night or dark.
Word in the Wild: My favourite part of going to Las Vegas is walking the strip and admiring the noctilucous neon lights.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Med’icaster, n. a quack who brags of cures.
Word in the Wild: The worst part of insomnia is watching all the overnight infomercials just brimming with medicasters.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Loo’by, n. a lubber; a clumsy fellow.
Word in the Wild: I thought our dog would outgrow that awkward puppy stage, but he’s eight years old now and still a total looby.
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
Vest-Pocket Vocabulary
Jet’ter, n. a spruce fellow; one who struts.
Word in the Wild: “I saw your brother at the bar last night and, my goodness, doesn’t he think he’s quite the jetter!”
You can find a complete listing of the Word Blog’s Vest-Pocket Vocabulary entries and learn more about where they come from here.
