For a rather unusual reason, I've been reading a lot of Edgar Allan Poe lately and can't help but notice the plethora of words that many probably don't recognize. Maybe I'm being paranoid (as with "sagacious), but I just feel the need to share some definitions here.
Long story short, this is less a traditional "Grammar War" entry and more just a list of uncommon words that were apparently beloved by the great Poe.
beetling - to scurry like a beetle
ephemeron - something short-lived or of no lasting significance
habiliments - the dress characteristic of an occupation or occasion - usually used in plural
ineffable - incapable of being expressed in words
lustrum - a period of five years (the Roman census)
mummer - a performer in pantomime
pertinacity - adhering resolutely to an opinion, purpose, or design (perversely pertinent; stubbornly tenacious)
sagacious - keen in sense perception
tinctured - to tint or stain with a color; to instill or infuse with a property or entity
And, for a bonus word, a word I learned from Mr. Alan Burnett (and not from Poe):
cordwainer - shoemaker
Hmm not common lexicon but I use the word 'ephemeral' a lot . . .I think I've dropped the odd ineffable into conversation too. Although I do sagitate and prognosticate that the honourable gentlemen is sometimes peturbed by the exuberance of his own verbosity.
ReplyDeletei am going to aspire to use each of these tomorrow just to befuddle those i come in contact with...love it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know 'lustrum' or Burnett's 'cordwainer'. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteBut I (or the 13-year-old boy in me) laughed at 'mummer', cause all I could think was it meant when a mime gives you a...
Never mind. This is an intellectual discussion and I have just debased myself. Dang.