Remarkable Words

As readers and writers, we have a fascination with words: Words we love, words we’ve never heard before, words we’ve read but can’t pronounce, words in other languages that carry meaning no English word could ever reach…So it stands to reason that, when we carry books like The Dictionary of Difficult and Unusual Words, we’re going to do a deep dive so our readers can share our delight.

And so, we present to you, dear reader, a compilation of more than fifty remarkable words you may not know and their accompanying definitions.

Ablaut

(ahb-lout) an English noun referring to the alteration within different forms of a word, such as “sing,” “sang,” “sung.”

Ag borradh

(egg-borrar) an Irish Gaelic noun translated by author John O’Donahue as “a quivering life about to break forth,” meaning the beginning of spring.

Akash Ganga आकाशगङ्गा

(akash-ganj-ah) a Sanskrit noun that literally translates to “the Ganges of the sky,” comparing the Milky Way to the sacred River Ganges. This is one of ten Sanskrit terms for the Milky Way.

Alimuóm

(a-lee-moo-om) a Tagalog noun that describes the smell of rain-soaked soil (the English equivalent is petrichor).

Barbarism

(bahr-buh-riz-uhm) an English noun meaning the incorrect use of an expression or word.

Bathos

(bey-thos) an English noun for the sudden change from to exalted or lofty to the commonplace or banal (similar to an anticlimax or melodrama).

Bokor

(boh-kawr) a Hungarian noun for a voodoo sorcerer for hire that often practices both black and white magic.

Calque

(kalk) an English noun for a word that has been translated from another language and kept its meaning (like superman from the German übermensch).

Crepuscular

(crepp-usk-u-lah) an English adjective that categorizes creatures that are active during twilight (conversely, animals that are active in the evening are vespertine, and animals active at dawn are matutinal).

Denudation

(den-yoo-dey-shuhn) an English noun for the erosion of a land’s surface.

Desiderative

(dih-sid-er-uh-tiv) an English adjective used to describe a word or phrase that expresses desire.

Diachronic

(dahy-uh-kron-ik) an English adjective that describes the development of language over time.

Ecdysis

(ek-duh-sis) an English noun referring to an arthropod (like a spider or crustacean) molting its exoskeleton.

Effleurage

(ef-luh-rahzh) an English noun for a delicate stroking technique used in massage.

Entelechy

(en-tel-uh-kee) an English noun that refers to the physical realization of potential (often used in philosophy).

Erg

(urg) an English noun for shifting sand dunes in a desert. Also a unit for measuring energy in physics.

Faience

(fahy-ahns) a French noun for fine pottery with a colorful glaze.

Flagrante delicto

(fluh-gran-tee di-lik-toh) a Latin phrase that translates to “while the crime is blazing,” used in English to mean “red-handed” or “in the act.”

Flâneur

(flah-nœr) a French noun describing an aimless person; a dawdler.

Frisson

(free-sohn) a French noun for a shiver, often meant in thrill of excitement or fear when used in English.

Gerund

(jer-uhnd) an English noun for a verb form ending in “-ing” that can also be used as a noun (like “writing” or “swimming”).

Giocoso

(juh-koh-so) an Italian adjective meaning “merrily,” often used in musical direction.

Gramarye

(gram-uh-ree) a Middle English noun that literally means “grammar” but refers to magic or the occult.

Hanyauku

(harn-yoh-ku) a Namibian verb for walking across hot sand on tiptoe.

Hoppípolla

(hoppy pollar) an Icelandic verb for jumping joyfully into puddles, first coined by the band Sigur Rós.

Ichthyology

(ik-thee-ol-uh-jee) an English noun referring to the study of fish.

Intaglio

(in-tal-yoh) an Italian noun for a design carved into a surface.

Jeu d’esprit

(zhœ des-pree) a French noun that literally means “play of spirit,” used in English to refer to wittiness.

Jiva

(jee-vuh) a Sanscrit noun for the individual living soul.

Karst

(kahrst) an English noun for a limestone landscape, characterized by bare, rocky surfaces and underground rivers.

Kouros

(koor-os) a Greek noun referring to an ancient male statue, usually nude.

Lexicography

(lek-si-kog-ruh-fee) an English noun for the practice of writing or compiling dictionaries.

Lieko

(lee-ay-ko) a Finnish noun for a fallen tree, often into a lake or a marsh.

Mångata

(mo-an-gaa-tah) a Swedish noun referring to the moon’s silvery reflection in the water forming a “path,” often used by sailors to help them navigate dark passages.

Meriggiare

(merry-jar-ay) an Italian verb for a luxurious midday rest, usually shaded from a sunny day

Mono no aware 物の哀れ

(mo-nor nor awarr-ey) a Japanese phrase referring to the wistful feeling of impermanence—literally, “the sadness of things.” The term is now frequently used as in film and literary criticism.

Murr-ma

(mer-ma) a Wagiman (a dying language native to Australia’s Northern Territory) verb for the act of searching for something in the water with your feet.

Naturopathy

(ney-chuh-rop-uh-thee) an English noun for a treatment plan that relies on the body’s natural healing process via a specialized diet, herbs, vitamins, etc.

Netsuke 根付

(ne-tsoo-ke) a Japanese noun for a small figurine used to decorate belts, purses, and pouches in sixteenth-century Japan.

Nimby

(nim-bee) an English noun from the 80s that literally means “not in my backyard,” referring to a person who objects to some new construction in his neighborhood.

Oblate

(o-bleyt) an English adjective for a spherical planet in which the distance between the equators is greater than the distance between the poles (the Earth is an oblate planet).

Oology

(oh-ol-uh-jee) an English noun for the ornithological study of bird eggs.

Oubaitori 桜梅桃李

(oh-buy-toe-ree) a Japanese idiom comprised of blossoming trees: the cherry tree (桜), plum tree (梅), peach tree (桃), and Japanese plum tree (李). Twelfth-century Buddhist priest Nichorin said, “Cherry, plum, peach, and damson blossoms all have their own qualities.” Like the trees, the idiom implores us to find beauty in our own value rather than comparing our value to someone else’s.

Paronym

(par-uh-nim) an English noun for a word that shares its derivation with another word (like “wise” and “wisdom”).

Patois

(pat-wah) a French noun for a regional dialect that differs from the standard form of the language.

Porosha ПОРОША

(porr-osh-ar) a Russian noun for the pristine snow that falls in the dead of night.

Qi 氣

(chee) a Chinese noun for the vital life force that flows through the body.

Ratafia

(rat-uh-fee-uh) an English noun for a sweet flavoring made from bitter almonds.

Revontulet

(ray-von-tyu-lett) a Finnish noun for the Northern Lights, revontulet also translates to “fox-fires” or “spell-fires,” a reference to a mythical fox that created the sheets of rainbow fire in the sky in Finnish lore.

Ring of Gyges Γύγου Δακτύλιος

(ring ov jahy-jeez) an ancient Greek noun for a magic ring that makes the wearer invisible, mentioned in Plato’s Republic around 375 B.C.

Saprolite

(sap-ruh-lahyt) an English noun that refers to a soft, decomposed deposit of rock, clay, or silt, that has remained in place.

Scrying

(skrahy-ing) an English verb that describes the act of discovering hidden knowledge or future events through divination by gazing through a reflective surface. In fortune telling, this is often a crystal ball, but there are other practiced forms.

Smultronställe

(smul-tron-stellar) a Swedish noun that literally means “a small remote place where wild strawberries grow,” but is canonically used to describe a secretive place that brings happiness to the speaker.

Tükörsima

(took-er shee-ma) a Hungarian noun that describes calm waters, literally translated as “mirror-flat.”

Tyromancy τυρός

(ty-ruh-man-see) an ancient Greek noun for a form of divination involving observation of cheese, especially as it coagulates.

Upepo

(uu-pe-ph) a Swahili noun for a light breeze that brings momentary relief from the heat.

Veduta

(vey-duu-ta) an Italian noun for a highly detailed painting of a landscape or cityscape that is so artfully rendered, the location is identifiable.

Viviparous

(vahy-vip-er-uhs) an English adjective for an animal that gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. In botany, it also refers to producing seeds that germinate on the plant.

Waldeinsamkeit

(valt-ine-sam-kite) a German noun that literally translates as “wood solitude,” the word refers to the peaceful feeling inspired by wandering alone in a forest.