Forgotten Words

[Nowherewoman]

distaff

'dis-taff

1. n the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning

2. n the sphere of work by women

3.  nthe female branch or side of a family

3. adj characteristic of or peculiar to a woman

[Argyros]

Cozen

"Cozen me if you can."

[ coz·​en | ˈkə-zən | kuhz-uh n ]


verb (with or without an object)

• To swindle by artful deception.
• To cheat, deceive or trick.

Similar Words

Cozener (noun)
Cozeningly (adverb)


Etymology

Cozen (c. 1565–1575). Origin unknown. Believed to be from Old North French coçonner (to resell), verbal derivative of coçon (retailer)
and derived from Latin coctiōnem, accusative of cōciō (dealer). Also believed to have been influenced by Middle French cousin (dupe, gullible person).

[Hob]

distaff

'dis-taff

1. n the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning

2. n the sphere of work by women

3.  nthe female branch or side of a family

3. adj characteristic of or peculiar to a woman

This reminds me of a D&D game I was in. "How did I cast Dispell?" -points to the rod-carrying female wizard- "With Distaff."

[Hob]

Gobemouche

noun

• a credulous, naive, or gullible person
• one who believed everything they hear
• Literally, a fly swallower; hence, once who keeps his mouth open; a boor; a silly and credulous person. (1913)

French/English, early 19th Century
from French gober (to gulp down, swallow) + mouche (fly), from Latin musca

[Mirrah]

This reminds me of a D&D game I was in. "How did I cast Dispell?" -points to the rod-carrying female wizard- "With Distaff."

That pun... XD

[Yuna]

I'm not sure I love more: the word or the picture!

Haha, right? Glad you liked it.

I have another one that's almost too convenient for the time we live in, despite it being archaic:

Trumpery

Noun

• Attractive articles of little value or use.
  ‘None of your woollen drapery, nor linen drapery, nor any of your frippery or trumpery. I hate ostentation’
  
• Practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth.
  ‘he exposed their ideals as trumpery’
  ‘theatrical trumpery’

Adjective

• Showy but worthless.
  ‘trumpery jewellery’
  
• Delusive or shallow.
  ‘that trumpery hope which lets us dupe ourselves’

Origin
Late Middle English (denoting trickery): from Old French tromperie, from tromper ‘deceive’.

[Sain]

O god is that real ;D

[Yuna]

O god is that real ;D

It would appear so!

[Hob]

Welmish

adjective

• pale or sickly color
• white or greenish in color

British, mid-17th Century
Origin uncertain.
Perhaps early modern German qualm (swoon, faint, half-conscious or unconscious state0 (16th cent.)
Compare Danish kvalm, qvalm (nausea, fit of sickness)

[Argyros]

Incarnadine

[in·​car·​na·​dine | in-ˈkär-nə-ˌdīn | in-kahr-nuh-dahyn, -din, -deen ]


adjective

• Having a dark pink, flesh-coloured hue.
• Crimson; blood-red.

noun

• An incarnadine colour.

verb (used with object) (-ed, -ing).

• To make incarnadine; redden.

Etymology

Incarnadine. (c. 1585–95). From Middle French incarnadin (flesh-coloured), which is derived from Italian incarnatino, a portmanteau
of incarnat(o) (incarnate, made flesh) + -ino. Also inspired by carnation (from Dianthus caryophyllus, a species of pink herbaceous perennials).

[Hob]

Lentor

noun

• vicisity —used of the blood
• slowness, sluggishness
• lethargy

Latin, from lentus (sticky, flexible, slow) + -or

[Argyros]

Bruit

"Hear ye, hear ye!"

[ bruit | broot | brüt | brü-​ē ]



noun

• A noise, din or clamour.
• A report or rumour.
• (Medical) Any generally abnormal sound or murmur heard on auscultation.

verb (transitive; used with object, often passively and followed by "about") (-ed, -ing).

• To voice abroad.
• To rumour.

Etymology

Bruit (c. 1400–1450, Late Middle English). From Anglo-French bruit (noise, clamour) derived from
Old French bruire (to roar) and Latin brūgere, a conflation of rūgīre (to bellow) and bragere (to bray).

[Hob]

Hochle

verb

• To walk with a slow, awkward, hobbling or tottering gait
• To do anything awkwardly, to be untidy in dress
• To fornicate, “to tumble lewdly with women in open day”
• An ungainly heaving movement of the body, an awkward shifting of position

verb

• Anything which is in a tumbledown or ramshackle condition

Scottish, late 18th Century- early 20th Century
Possibly from English hock/hoch/hough (the joint of an animal's hind leg)
from Old English hōh (heel or possibly joint)

[Sain]

Hochle

verb

• To walk with a slow, awkward, hobbling or tottering gait
• To do anything awkwardly, to be untidy in dress
• To fornicate, “to tumble lewdly with women in open day”
• An ungainly heaving movement of the body, an awkward shifting of position

verb

• Anything which is in a tumbledown or ramshackle condition

Scottish, late 18th Century- early 20th Century
Possibly from English hock/hoch/hough (the joint of an animal's hind leg)
from Old English hōh (heel or possibly joint)

Wow what a many faceted verb. This is wonderful ;D Well, so are most of these words you guys find. This thread is just <3

[Argyros]

Anguilliform

"Slippery as an eel."

[ an·​guil·​li·​form | ang-gwil-uh-fawrm | aŋˈgwiləˌfȯrm ]



adjective

• Having the shape or form of an eel; eel-like.
• Characteristic of an eel.

Etymology

Anguilliform (c. 1685–1695). From Latin anguill(a) (eel) or angu(is) (snake) + -illa (diminutive suffix) + -i- + -form.

[stormwyrm]

Shend

Verb (transitive)

• To disgrace or put to shame.
• To blame.
• To destroy, to spoil.
• To overpower, to surpass.

From Middle English shenden, from Old English sċendan (“to put to shame, blame, disgrace”), from Proto-Germanic *skandijaną (“to scold, berate”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kem- (“to cover”). Cognate with Dutch schenden (“to infringe, profane, defile”), German schänden (“defile”), Danish skænde (“defile”). Related to Old English sċand (“infamy, shame, scandal”).

[Hob]

Nympholepsy

Noun

• A demonic enthusiasm held by the ancients to seize one bewitched by a nymph
• A frenzy of (erotic) emotion
• Passion aroused in men by beautiful young women
• Wild frenzy caused by desire for an unattainable ideal.
• An unappeasable longing, not one that can be acted upon

Late 18th century
from Greek numpholēptos (caught by nymphs)
from numphē (nymph) and lambanein (take hold of, in reference to epilepsy)

[Kitteredge]

Incarnadine

[in·​car·​na·​dine | in-ˈkär-nə-ˌdīn | in-kahr-nuh-dahyn, -din, -deen ]


adjective

• Having a dark pink, flesh-coloured hue.
• Crimson; blood-red.

noun

• An incarnadine colour.

verb (used with object) (-ed, -ing).

• To make incarnadine; redden.

Etymology

Incarnadine. (c. 1585–95). From Middle French incarnadin (flesh-coloured), which is derived from Italian incarnatino, a portmanteau
of incarnat(o) (incarnate, made flesh) + -ino. Also inspired by carnation (from Dianthus caryophyllus, a species of pink herbaceous perennials).

I believe Shakespeare invented this word:

Macbeth:
Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here? Hah! They pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

[Argyros]

I believe Shakespeare invented this word:

Macbeth:
Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here? Hah! They pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

Shakespeare was the quintessential neologist. We owe him many thanks for new-fangled (!) terminologies such as bedazzled, pageantry, multitudinous and yes, incarnadine.  ;D

[Argyros]

Avaunt

"Avaunt, you dalcop bespawler!"

[ a · vaunt | uh-vawnt, -vahnt | ə-ˈvȯnt, -ˈvänt ]



adverb (exclamation)

• Go away; depart

Etymology

Avaunt (c. 1275–1325, Middle English). From Anglo-French avant (to the front), derived from Late Latin abante (forward) (ab- = from, -ante = before).

[Hob]

Blissom

transitive verb

• of a ram, to copulate with a ewe. Also "tup".

intransitive verb

• of a ewe, to be in heat
• To be lustful or lascivious.

adjective

• lascivious
• subject to or having strong sexual desires
• in heat (ewe)

Middle English blissomen, of Scandinavian origin
akin to Old Norse blæsma (in heat, said of goats)
akin to Old Norse blāsa (to blow)
Oddly enough, not related to "blissome" (characterised or marked by bliss; joyous)

[Argyros]

Wanion

"I see a bad moon rising."

[ wan·​ion | won-yuh n | wän-yən ]



noun (can be used with the preceding phrase, "with a")

• Vengence; curse.

Etymology

Wanion (c. 1540–1550, Middle English). Alteration of waniand, a present participle of wanien (wane) derived
from the phrase "in the waniand" (unluckily) or "in the time of the waning (moon)", which is comparative to "in an unlucky hour".

[stormwyrm]

Eruct

Verb (intransitive)

• To burp, to belch

From Latin ēructō.

I first came across this word in a translation of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, where Don Quixote advises Sancho Panza, on the eve of his assuming the post of governor of the island of Barataria, to avoid frequent "eructing". Sancho is confused, not knowing the word, and Quixote explains that it means 'belching', but that ordinary word sounded much too ugly and vulgar, so he coined the word 'eruct' from the Latin. I've never yet seen the word elsewhere in the wild. I think in the original Spanish the exchange involved the words 'eructo' and 'regüeldo':

Eructar, Sancho, quiere decir regoldar, y éste es uno de los más torpes vocablos que tiene la lengua castellana, aunque es muy significativo; y así, la gente curiosa se ha acogido al latín, y al regoldar dice eructar, y a los regüeldos, eructaciones; y cuando algunos no entienden estos términos, importa poco, que el uso los irá introduciendo con el tiempo, que con facilidad se entiendan, y esto es enriquecer la lengua, sobre quien tiene poder el vulgo y el uso.

[Argyros]

Gyve

[ gyve | jahyv, gahyv | jīv, gīv ]



noun (usually gyves)

• A shackle, especially for the leg.
• A chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles; a fetter.

verb (transitive, used with an object) [-ed, -ing]

• To shackle or restrain.

Etymology

Gyve (c. 1175–1225, Middle English). Origin unknown.

[Hob]

Tarradiddle

noun

• a petty lie, a fib
• pretentious nonsense

British, informal, late 18th-Century
Etymology unknown
possibly related to diddle (in the sense of 'to cheat' or 'a hoax or swindle')