All Things Words

[fueledbycoffee]

I have no idea where to put this. Oh, well, Words are "fun," so...

So I like words. Talk about words. Neologisms, etymology, favorite words, and why. Whatever. Talk about words.

I'd say that today, my favorite word, for a while now, is a simple, and, so I'm told, dirty word, that can mean any variety of things: The "F" Word. I'm not going to say it, as it may not be proper, considering that this is a topic-heading post in a public-access forum. Some kid may log on, see it, run to Mommy, and next thing you know, you have the BF,E township PTA on here whining. I've seen it happen before. But I digress. This is a wonderful word. It can express lust, rage, detachment, surprise, or nothing at all. It has the power to arouse, inspire, disturb, and offend. It's considered lowbrow, yet it appears in nearly every great work of modern literature. Yet, it's only one syllable. This is a truly great, multifunctional word. Use it. Often. And be not ashamed.

[Capellini]

One of my favorite words is 'zeitgeist'.

[fueledbycoffee]

I like Zeitgeist, too. I'd say it's in my top 150.

[Wawizzle]

Fuck is my favorite word too.

[Mad Willyum Bonney]

palindrome

[Elastoman]

1 vote for Schadenfreude

1 vote for Pusillanimous

More votes later, I'd guess.

~E.

[aaRghNAbled]

I like pairs of Nabokovian homonyms. I don't know if that term is used by anyone but me.
Two (or more) words that don't have to be pronounced exactly the same, but very similar. The best one's have some relation in their meaning or, if misheard in a sentence, lead to complete and humorous misunderstanding.

tocsin-toxin : rattlesnakes have both of these, one at each end.

islet, eyelid - I overheard part of a conversation about pig eyelids once - confusing. It dawned on me later that the couple were talking about pig pancreatic islet cells as a treatment for diabetes.

Somewhere I have a long list of pairs like this - can only recall these two examples at the moment.


Dinoflagellate is my favorite word right now. It's not what young-earthers imagine happened to those Diplodocus our ancestors saddled up.


Aaaargh! Mad Will yum! Give us a palindrome!

[Andrey Kurtenkov]

Some from my favourite English words, which have not precise literal translation into my language:
open-minded
sophisticated
offal
serendipity
myself
awareness

[Detective TurtleHolmes]

Schaudenfreude.
Blaggard.
Prolix.

Some of my favourite words. I have many, but those are definitely in the top 10.

[Mad Willyum Bonney]

Slop , dollop , ooze , slime , slurp , glob , harass .
OI ! A palindrome ... um um um DOH ! oi used to nose a reel noice wun * sigh * , oi kin onlee tink ove thee obvious wuns now loike mom , dad , pop , pap ,sis , noon , stats , tenet
and level.

What else is tharr mateys ?

Oi juss fown one in wiki ," Sator Apero Tenet Opera Rotas " .

[Moral Minority]

Sauerkraut
Asperger
Zeitgeist
Shitstorm
Equity
Conniving
Warrant
Bacterium

My favourite German word is 'Rausschmeiser' which would translate as bouncer.

[aaRghNAbled]

offal

awful

Blaggard.

black guard

[fueledbycoffee]

I'm liking Mondegreen and Schadenfreude (And this one's all your fault!) at the moment.

[aaRghNAbled]

Well, mondegreen is the word I ought to be using for Nabokovian homonyms. Who came first Nabokov or Sylvia Wright? But Nabokov put them in his books on purpose, mondegreen is a mistake in hearing it. hmmmmm?

A favorite word: jejune

[pieces o'nine]

commensurate


...ever since someone ran and 'told on me' for using this word at work (!)...