The "Exhilarating Word" Game

[Dave2112]

This game came about through some fascinating exchanges of the English language between myself and the intellectually intriguing Musicroxmysox. We decided to see if we could share our love of interesting words with the rest of you.

Simply post a word you find either interesting, unique, challenging or just sexy in its pronunciation. However, you must post the definition of the word posted by the person above you before you can post yours. Hopefully, people won't cheat and use a dictionary, but even if you do, at least you're learning some new words and expanding your vocabulary.

I'll start with one of my favorites and the one that kicked off this whole idea.

Syzygy

 

[Musicroxmysox]

Lined up planets if I remember correctly. Something along those lines.

Ok just to be a pain in the ass here is my first one.

Anacrusis.

 

[McNoodle]

Former tennis player and model who choked at every tournament and never won?

 

[milagros317]

Lined up planets if I remember correctly. Something along those lines.

Ok just to be a pain in the ass here is my first one.

Anacrusis.

anacrusis

One or more notes or tones that come before the first downbeat of a musical phrase.

My word: surjective

 

[Dave2112]

Impressive, Melanie. You're right about the planetary alignment, however syzygy remains one of my favorite words due its many definitions around a central theme of conjoinment. In mathematics, it's a relation between the generators of an "M" module. (To do with abstract algebra). It also has meaning in relation to some religious denominations, most notably Gnosticism. And, in the usage I draw on for many of my more interesting characters from my fiction (and artwork lately), it's philosophically a pair of opposites and psychologically...contrasexual opposites, a representation of the conscious and subconsious minds. How two can come together, create an identity without losing the individual identities.

Ok, on to Mils. I'm assuming you actually meant "Surjective" and not a typo of "SUBjective".

To the best of my memory, this is another mathematical term, if a functions values are consistent within an entire codomain. I'm not 100% sure here, but I believe that there must be one x for every y.

Now, I need a good one. Hmmm.....


Altruism

 

[milagros317]

Yes, surjective is a mathematical term applying to functions. It the property of a function that its range is equal to its entire codomain.

(So if f and g are functions from the real numbers to the real numbers, where f(x)=x^2 - 12x and g(x)=x^3 - 12x, then G is surjective while f is not. Neither, by the way, is injective.)

Altruism
Unselfish devotion to the needs of others.


New word: isomorphism

 

[Dave2112]

Hmmm....I know there's a mathematical definition of this one as well, and while it would probably take two pages to completely explain, I do believe it can be most easily defined as the correspondance of mathematical sets. I'm more familiar with the chemical term, concerning measuring the similarity of the crystalized forms of different chemical compounds.


Let's pull one of my faves from the "ation" game.

Exsanguination.

 

[Dave2112]

What? No one likes words?

 

[DJ Tickler]

Exsanguination

To drain blood…I think

flibberdigibit

(I think that is spelt correct)

DJ Tickler

 

[Dave2112]

Wow. Nice one. It's either a foolish person or an overly talkative person. To be honest, I can't remember which at the moment. Or, I could be wrong altogether! I do know that it's a term used in some form of derogatory nature.


Here's one for our UK members, they should know this one. I just love the way it sounds.

Haberdasherie

(Oh, cool....my 8,888th post. Do I get a prize or something?)

 

[Musicroxmysox]

I believe it's a ridiculous situation? Not so sure...not gonna look it up either. Here is a reasonably simple one though. I just like it though for no reason.

Banal.

 

[Dave2112]

A haberdasherie (also alternately spelled haberdashery) is a shop where men's clothing is sold. Haberdasher being the Old English term for a tailor.

Banal - trite, common and/or predictable


Hmmm....thinking cap time....

Oooh, oooh...


Colloquialism

 

[David Presents]

An informal word or usage generally limited to a particular region, I believe.

Here's a word that's not easy to slip into casual conversation, although I did manage to use it in one of my stories:

Defenestrate.

 

[Mister Scruff]

Defenestrate: to throw someone out of a window.


My word: Albumen.

 

[Musicroxmysox]

Albumen: In an egg. The white part I believe.

Saturnalia.

 

[Mister Scruff]

The pagan festival Christians usurped and turned into "Christmas"


Jurisprudence

 

[Dave2112]

Jurisprudence relates to the approach of law as a science, art form or in most usages, the philosophy of law. It also has a secondary meaning as a particular branch of law, such as "estate jurisprudence".


Obfuscation

 

[David Presents]

An act of deliberately expressing something unclearly.

Antediluvian.

 

[Mister Scruff]

Out-dated, anachronistic.



Volenti

 

[Dave2112]

Volenti is Latin for "voluntary". It is most commonly used as a legal term, "volenti non fit injuria". Basically, it's the concept that no harm is done to a party willingly consenting to an activity. This has been invoked in many cases involving BDSM activities.


Mastication

 

[Mister Scruff]

Chewing



Mondegreen
EDIT: Extra point if you've got the etymology

 

[Dave2112]

Ah, I know this one well. Being a musician from the old-school before the ability to find lyrics on the Internet, we used to sit around the tape player figuring out the lyrics to songs we wanted to do.

A mondegreen is just that. When one mishears or misinterprets a lyric from a song or a passage from a poem or some such.

The etymology dates back to the 50's, I believe, and the writer Sylvia Wright. Apparently, she'd misinterpreted the last line of an Old English ballad (I don't remember the title, sorry). The line was "...and laid him on the green", which she heard as "The Lady Mondegreen". She included the mishearing in an essay, I believe.

Can I have a cookie instead of the point?

Ok...I can see you're getting serious...

Amnescent

 

[David Presents]

I suppose we shouldn't just guess, but since this last has been up for a while I'm going to suggest, based on the roots, that it means "having no memory."

And now, to toss y'all a curve,

Sabermetrics

 

[Mister Scruff]

Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics

god bless wikipedia


Offside

 

[Dave2112]

As a football term, it is when a defensive player is either lined up or "jumps" over the line of scrimmage prior to the snap of the ball.


Expeditious