Palpebrous

Palpebrous by Uncommon Parlance

Ever seen a gentleman whose noble brow is even-further ennobled by a prominent set of eyebrows? Perhaps they were like the wings of a bat? Perhaps they formed fine points, like a Viking’s helmet, or Salvador Dali’s moustache? Either way, the word you’re looking for to describe this impressive facial feature is palpebrous. Palpebrousness (or could it be palebrosity?) is the possession of prominent eye-brows.

Etymology: From Latin palpebra, an eyelid. Apparently the word was mistranslated by Benjamin Smart, a nineteenth-century grammarian in his New Critical Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language.

“Tennyson used his eyebrows to intimidate. He leaned in close to the cowering Benjamin Spratt and thrust his palpebrous protrusions at him like horns. ‘Do you still accuse me of favouritism, you cur?’ he growled.”

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Jentacular

Jentacular

Looking for a word to celebrate the dawning of a new day, to laud the dawn chorus or to praise your porridge. Then, dear reader, look no further than jentacular, which refers to the early morning, something that happens immediately after rising, or of or pertaining to breakfast.

Etymology: from Latin ientaculum, a breakfast taken immediately on getting up.

“The bony boys shivered in the cold morning air and used their small fists to rub sleep from their eyes. ‘Give thanks for this jentacular feast, you ungrateful brutes’, bellowed Master Bartholomew, as they lined up to get their gruel.”

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Zaftig

Zaftig by Uncommon Parlance

Need the philaverist’s term to describe a busty wench? Then settle on zaftig; an adjective for buxom, plump or full-bodied. Etymology: from the Yiddish word, Zaftik, meaning juicy or succulent; from German, Zaft meaning juice, sap.

“A spark flickered in the old man’s eyes. They lost their rheumy, lifelessness as memories of the zaftig widow came flooding back. He smiled. He hung out his tongue. He described an hourglass with his hands and pumped his eyebrows.”

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Blennoid

Blennoid

Sure, there’s muciform and mucoid, but if you really want to describe something that’s gooey and mucus-like with elan, you need blennoid and its multitude of related terms, including, blennogenic, generating mucus; blennorrhoea, a mucus-y discharge; and blennophobia, a fear of mucus. Etymology: from Ancient Greek βλέννος (blénnos), meaning mucus or slime.

“Hamlin kept his weapon trained on the alien corpse and ushered Doctor Ravensdale forward. The doctor made a swift and wary examination. Beneath the tangle of limbs, a series of orifices leaked blennoid gore. His hands, covered in the vile stuff, tingled ominously.”

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Lunting

Lunting

Lunting is a delightfully anachronistic term that describes the gentlemanly pursuit of taking a constitutional stroll while smoking a pipe. To lunt was a verb that originally meant to emit smoke or steam, or to light a pipe. The perambulatory overtones were first added in John Mactaggart’s Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia of 1824.

Etymology: From Dutch lont, meaning match or fuse; akin to Middle Low German lunte, meaning match or wick.

“As Peters was lunting through the fen he spied a strange and twisted piece of timber. But wait! This was not wood. It was a gruesome corpse, preserved by the bog and twisted by time. He stared into the gaping mouth and empty eye-sockets and emitted a puff of smoke that was ushered away by the wind.”

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Jactitation

Jacitation

Jactitation is a Janus of a term. One use refers to a restless tossing and turning due to sickness, the other refers to boastful, falsehoods. In English and Irish law, Jactitation specifically refers to the false and maliciously boasting by one party that they are married to another. So next time you’re looking for a word for thrashing sick-folk with a synonym related to matrimonial lies, try jactitation.

Etymology: from Latin jactitare to throw about.

“Her legal advisors pushed her to file a suit for jactitation of marriage against Pendleton, but Marjorie felt a knife in the chest was a more appropriate response. The jactitation she craved was Pendeleton thrashing at her feet in a bloody pool.”

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Groak

Groak by Uncommon Parlance

Have you ever been enjoying a meal in your favourite eatery and suddenly got the impression that someone is looking at you? You look around and see a lonely soul, perched above their soup, a look of hope and pleading in their eyes. That, gentle reader, is a groaker. To Groak is to look longingly after some wanted object, and specifically, to longingly watch someone while they eat in the hope of being invited to join them.

Etymology: Unclear, Possibly Scots or Ulster Gaelic. The word is found in Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang as both “groak” and “growk” It also shows its face in The Dictionary of the Scots Language.

“The lights in the restaurant seemed to dim. The curve of her clavicle, the bend of her neck, how her hair fell over her face; Conrad drank it all in. His schnitzel went cold as he continued to groak.”

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Anhedonia

Anhedonia by Uncommon Parlance

Are you suffering from emotional emptiness? Locked in a purgatory without pleasure? Unable to enjoy the delights of the flesh and sensory stimulation? That sucks. But at least you can now put a name to your disorder. It’s anhedonia.

Anhedonia is defined as the absence of pleasure, and/or the ability to experience it. Etymology: The term was apparently coined by French Psychologist Théodule-Armand Ribot. From Greek: prefix ἀν, or an (without) + ἡδονή or hēdonē (pleasure).

“The costumes, the hamsters, the saline injections, the amphetamines, masks and skin mags; they all did nothing for him now. An ineluctable anhedonia held sway over his mind and body. ”


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Potvalency

Potvalency

Dutch courage is for gin-addled lowlanders; if you need a geographically neutral term for bravery born of booze, you want potvalency. Potvalency, or potvaliancy, refers to artificial courage due to the influence of alcohol. Etymology: Pot (drinking cup) with valiancy, which derives from the Latin verb valere (to be strong).

“Randall sipped his gin and pondered the front door. He wasn’t an alcoholic. He was a coward who relied on potvalency to make it through the day. Outside traffic hummed, people chattered and the world lay in wait.”


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Senocular

Senocular by Uncommon Parlance

Senocular is most likely a word beloved of arachnologists who study the Sicarius hahni, known to its friends as the six-eyed sand spider. Very few others would have any real reason to use it, as senocular means possessing six eyes. Etymology, from Latin Seni (six each) + Oculus (eye).

“The Colonel beat the ground in futile impotence. The three cats had outsmarted him once again. He knew they would be just outside the perimeter regarding him. And there they were! Three motionless silhouettes in the night, a senocular statue with mocking lambent eyes.”


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