Words made to be used by agrestic oppugnant bloggers as they vilipend our olid leaders
How you can help to save some cherished words from oblivion - Times Online
Dictionary compilers at Collins have decided that the word list for the forthcoming edition of its largest volume is embrangled with words so obscure that they are linguistic recrement.
Collins has agreed that words will be granted a reprieve if evidence of their popularity emerges before February, when the word list is finalised.
Some of the words heading for extinction:
Abstergent Cleansing or scouring
Agrestic Rural; rustic; unpolished; uncouth
Apodeictic Unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration
Caducity Perishableness; senility
Caliginosity Dimness; darkness
Compossible Possible in coexistence with something else
Embrangle To confuse or entangle
Exuviate To shed (a skin or similar outer covering)
Fatidical Prophetic
Fubsy Short and stout; squat
Griseous Streaked or mixed with grey; somewhat grey
Malison A curse
Mansuetude Gentleness or mildness
Muliebrity The condition of being a woman
Niddering Cowardly
Nitid Bright; glistening
Olid Foul-smelling
Oppugnant Combative, antagonistic or contrary
Recrement Waste matter; refuse; dross
Vilipend To treat or regard with contempt
Comments
Aren't they all names of Wiltshire villages?
Posted by: Gallimaufry | September 22, 2008 10:41 AM
Why does it matter whether they're in Collins dictionary or not?
Posted by: Andrew Duffin | September 22, 2008 3:22 PM
Quite, Andrew, as long as they remain in proper dictionaries and upon the internet, why should we care that a recremental, niddering excuse for a dictionary that vilipends the majesty of the English language absterges them from its olid offering? A malison upon their house.
Posted by: DocBud | September 22, 2008 11:16 PM
Read this piece on yesterday's morning trawl through the blogs and later was deep in Charles Stross' new heavyweight philosophical SF book 'Anathem' - and there on p.651 - compossible, used correctly, too.
Spooky, or what?
Posted by: bta | September 23, 2008 9:15 AM
Read this piece on yesterday's morning trawl through the blogs and later was deep in Charles Stross' new heavyweight philosophical SF book 'Anathem' - and there on p.651 - compossible, used correctly, too.
Spooky, or what?
Posted by: bta | September 23, 2008 9:16 AM
what's the big deal?
Old English, Middle English and all those words we use but others dont...It is an oral tradition passed mother to child, WO2 to grunt for 100s if not 1000s of years.
Keep our words out of Collins so we can recognise native speakers.
Posted by: ABC | September 23, 2008 11:53 AM