DIRECTORY OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
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About Site | What’s New? | Feedback | Help
My Writing Portfolio at www.bykairos.com MAIN DIRECTORY
- Word Lists Home | Featured Word Lists
- Word and Literary Reference Corner language and writing referencePage resources
- The Beauty of Language and Words - the words we discover and find through reading
- Weaving Meaning in a Web of Words - the words we use for communicating & storytelling
- The Rare and Unusual of Obscurity - bring back the archaic, old fashioned & obsolete
- The Universe and World We Live In - the words in exotic languages new to us
- People, Places and Things - the words we use to understand ourselves & the world around us
- The Colors of Our Creativity - the words we use to create and innovate
- The Dark Side of the Moon - the words of a darker nature
- My Books: Series of Beautiful Words.
- @kairosoflife on Twitter - hashtag #BeautifulWords and Pinterest Boards
Search site below or use Advanced Search to search the site & my vocabulary books.
DIRECTORY OF OBSCURITY
The Old, Rare & Unusual
OBSCURE | WEIRD | OBSOLETE
Obscurity WordMap
WORD LISTS SPECIAL FEATURES WORDS FROM OTHER CATEGORIES ARTICLES FROM THE REFERENCE CENTER:
WEIRD AND WACKY WORDS
strange and bizarre old and rare words
OBSCURITY OF THE NORM
obscure words for the ordinary & normal
THE GREAT RESURRECTION
bringing the best obsolete words back
LEARN ABOUT OBSCURE WORDS
The Word Reference Corner
Obscurity in a Whole Lot of Psychobabble
Strange & Unusual Symptoms
Our minds are capable of producing some odd psychological symptoms and phobias. Most of the emotions we feel we can identify with common words like anger, disgust or irritation or we can refer to psychological disorders like depression or bipolar. These words are the obscure descriptors of some symptoms arising from these common words. Some are untranslatable so maybe you will finally have a word for that strange feeling you could never identify before.
ALEXITHYMIA - the inability to identify and express or describe one's feelings. People with this condition typically display a lack of imaginative or divergent thought, have difficulty distinguishing emotions or bodily sensations, and they engage more in logical or convergent (externally oriented) thought. They recognize emotional arousal but can’t differentiate or verbalize the associated emotions.
ATRABILIOUS - to experience melancholy or to describe someone who is ill-tempered. From the mid 17th century (like ‘affected by black bile’, which is one of the four supposed cardinal humors of the body, believed to cause melancholy. From the Latin ‘atra bilis’ meaning “black bile” which is a translation from the Greek ‘melankholia’ meaning “melancholy.”
CRAPEHANGER - this Americanism that dates back to the early 1900s and means someone prone to see the gloomy and dark sides of things. This could refer to a state of melancholy, a deeper depressive state or just pessimism. It’s a highly subjective word because what one might define as gloomy, another may define as pessimistic.
HORRIPILATION - the erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear, or excitement. This word comes from the mid 17th century Latin ‘horripilatio’ and ‘horrere’ meaning to “stand on end” and ‘pilus’ meaning “hair.”
KALOPSIA - a condition, state or delusion in which things appear more beautiful than they really are. This Greek word has a combination of the roots - ‘kallos’ meaning “beauty”, and ‘opsis’ meaning “sight” or “view” (or opos,meaning eyes). In English kalopsia can also mean beautiful sight or with beautiful eyes.
LALOCHEZIA - emotional relief gained by using indecent or vulgar language. Scientific studies have proven a correlation between swearing and the lessening of pain. They found that cursing can make pain more tolerable. The word is formed from two Greek roots meaning both “speech,” and “to defecate.”
LASSITUDE - weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc. A lack of energy producing listlessness or languor. Another definition is a condition of indolent indifference. The word dates back to 1525–35; and comes from the Latin ‘lassitūdō’ meaning “weariness” and is equivalent to ‘lass(us)’ meaning “weary.”
LITOST is a nearly untranslatable Czech word describing a state of torment created by the sudden sight of their own misery. Litost connects insult to revenge, with the burning desire to strike back at the perceived source of one’s shame. The Czech author Milan Kundera has said “it’s hard to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it.”
LOTUS-EATER - this word comes from Greek mythology and means a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world or known as a daydreamer. This can be positive (creative thinking) or negative (lazy) depending on the perception. In Classical Mythology it refers to someone Odysseus found existing in a state of languorous forgetfulness induced by the ingestion of the fruit of the legendary lotus. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and considered a narcotic which produced apathy in those affected.
LUDDITE - someone opposed to technological advances. The origin of the word comes from a British movement around 1811 in which textile mill workers rioted for the destruction of the new machinery that was slowly replacing them and causing them to be rendered obsolete. Their name is loosely associated with Ned Ludd, a Leicestershire villager of the 1700s who, in a fit of rage, rushed into a weaver's house and destroyed his equipment. That connected his name with the act of destroying machinery. In modern times Luddite came to describe anyone who shuns new technology.
MALINGER - to pretend or exaggerate the incapacity to work by faking an illness. From the early 19th century formation of ‘malingerer’ which derives from the French ‘malingre’ (broken into the words ‘mal’ meaning “wrongly” and ‘haingre’ meaning “weak.”) It is probably Germanic in origin.
Myötähäpeä - a Finnish word meaning embarrassment on behalf of another. Secondhand or vicarious shame from someone making a fool of themselves. From myötä- meaning “co” and häpeä meaning “shame.” We probably all feel this from some relative!
NEBULOCHAOTIC - means hazily confused. The word comes from ‘nebulo’ or ‘nebulous’ meaning “hazy, foggy, cloudy, and chaotic.”
OSSIFY - to become rigid or inflexible in habit, attitude or opinion. These people cease developing or become stagnant. The original meaning of the word is to turn into bone. It comes from the early 18th century French word ‘ossifier’ and the Latin ‘os, oss’ meaning “bone.”
PARAMNESIA - condition or phenomenon referring to the distorted memory or confusion between fact and fantasy, such as confabulation (imaginary experiences) or déjà vu.
SCIAMACHY - an act or instance of fighting a shadow or an imaginary enemy. This suggests delusional thinking. Coined around 1615–25 from the Greek ‘skiamachía’ which is the equivalent to ‘skiá’ meaning shadow and ‘machia’ or ‘macho’ meaning “fighting.” We can ruminate on who the shadow represents but a suggestion may be an internal fight within oneself.
SCIENTER - a mental state in which one has knowledge that one’s action or statement is wrong, deceptive, or illegal. It is often used as a standard of guilt. From the Latin word ‘scienter’ meaning “knowingly.”
VAGARIOUS - a rare word meaning erratic and unpredictable in behavior or direction. From the late 18th century (in the sense changing, inconstant). Derives from the word ‘vagary’ meaning “an unexpected change” and the suffix ‘ous’ meaning “nature of.”
STRANGE PHOBIAS
For more phobias see:
SPECIAL FEATURE: Pondering the Phobia
FOR MORE FEARFUL FUN:
ATRABILIOUS - to experience melancholy or to describe someone who is ill-tempered. From the mid 17th century (like ‘affected by black bile’, which is one of the four supposed cardinal humors of the body, believed to cause melancholy. From the Latin ‘atra bilis’ meaning “black bile” which is a translation from the Greek ‘melankholia’ meaning “melancholy.”
CRAPEHANGER - this Americanism that dates back to the early 1900s and means someone prone to see the gloomy and dark sides of things. This could refer to a state of melancholy, a deeper depressive state or just pessimism. It’s a highly subjective word because what one might define as gloomy, another may define as pessimistic.
HORRIPILATION - the erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear, or excitement. This word comes from the mid 17th century Latin ‘horripilatio’ and ‘horrere’ meaning to “stand on end” and ‘pilus’ meaning “hair.”
KALOPSIA - a condition, state or delusion in which things appear more beautiful than they really are. This Greek word has a combination of the roots - ‘kallos’ meaning “beauty”, and ‘opsis’ meaning “sight” or “view” (or opos,meaning eyes). In English kalopsia can also mean beautiful sight or with beautiful eyes.
LALOCHEZIA - emotional relief gained by using indecent or vulgar language. Scientific studies have proven a correlation between swearing and the lessening of pain. They found that cursing can make pain more tolerable. The word is formed from two Greek roots meaning both “speech,” and “to defecate.”
LASSITUDE - weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc. A lack of energy producing listlessness or languor. Another definition is a condition of indolent indifference. The word dates back to 1525–35; and comes from the Latin ‘lassitūdō’ meaning “weariness” and is equivalent to ‘lass(us)’ meaning “weary.”
LITOST is a nearly untranslatable Czech word describing a state of torment created by the sudden sight of their own misery. Litost connects insult to revenge, with the burning desire to strike back at the perceived source of one’s shame. The Czech author Milan Kundera has said “it’s hard to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it.”
LOTUS-EATER - this word comes from Greek mythology and means a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world or known as a daydreamer. This can be positive (creative thinking) or negative (lazy) depending on the perception. In Classical Mythology it refers to someone Odysseus found existing in a state of languorous forgetfulness induced by the ingestion of the fruit of the legendary lotus. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and considered a narcotic which produced apathy in those affected.
LUDDITE - someone opposed to technological advances. The origin of the word comes from a British movement around 1811 in which textile mill workers rioted for the destruction of the new machinery that was slowly replacing them and causing them to be rendered obsolete. Their name is loosely associated with Ned Ludd, a Leicestershire villager of the 1700s who, in a fit of rage, rushed into a weaver's house and destroyed his equipment. That connected his name with the act of destroying machinery. In modern times Luddite came to describe anyone who shuns new technology.
MALINGER - to pretend or exaggerate the incapacity to work by faking an illness. From the early 19th century formation of ‘malingerer’ which derives from the French ‘malingre’ (broken into the words ‘mal’ meaning “wrongly” and ‘haingre’ meaning “weak.”) It is probably Germanic in origin.
Myötähäpeä - a Finnish word meaning embarrassment on behalf of another. Secondhand or vicarious shame from someone making a fool of themselves. From myötä- meaning “co” and häpeä meaning “shame.” We probably all feel this from some relative!
NEBULOCHAOTIC - means hazily confused. The word comes from ‘nebulo’ or ‘nebulous’ meaning “hazy, foggy, cloudy, and chaotic.”
OSSIFY - to become rigid or inflexible in habit, attitude or opinion. These people cease developing or become stagnant. The original meaning of the word is to turn into bone. It comes from the early 18th century French word ‘ossifier’ and the Latin ‘os, oss’ meaning “bone.”
PARAMNESIA - condition or phenomenon referring to the distorted memory or confusion between fact and fantasy, such as confabulation (imaginary experiences) or déjà vu.
SCIAMACHY - an act or instance of fighting a shadow or an imaginary enemy. This suggests delusional thinking. Coined around 1615–25 from the Greek ‘skiamachía’ which is the equivalent to ‘skiá’ meaning shadow and ‘machia’ or ‘macho’ meaning “fighting.” We can ruminate on who the shadow represents but a suggestion may be an internal fight within oneself.
SCIENTER - a mental state in which one has knowledge that one’s action or statement is wrong, deceptive, or illegal. It is often used as a standard of guilt. From the Latin word ‘scienter’ meaning “knowingly.”
VAGARIOUS - a rare word meaning erratic and unpredictable in behavior or direction. From the late 18th century (in the sense changing, inconstant). Derives from the word ‘vagary’ meaning “an unexpected change” and the suffix ‘ous’ meaning “nature of.”
STRANGE PHOBIAS
For more phobias see:
SPECIAL FEATURE: Pondering the Phobia
- Acousticophobe is what it sounds like - the fear of noise.
- Arachibutyrophobe is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
- Ephebiphobe is the fear of teenagers (they can be scary!)
- Frigophobe is the fear of being cold (not just a dislike but an actual fear)
- Hexakosioihexe-kontahexaphobe another excessively long phobia term describing the fear of the digits 666 or what is known as the number of the devil.
- Paraskavedekatriaphobe - this mouthful of a word describes someone with the fear of Friday the 13th.
- Pogonophobe is the fear of beards
- And finally, Xanthophobe is the fear of the cheerful color yellow.
FOR MORE FEARFUL FUN:
- Literary Phobias - Like Fear of Language and Words or Fear of Paper or Pens
- Technical Phobias - Like Fear of the Internet or Fear of Losing an Internet Connection
- Halloween Plethora of Phobias - Monsters and Zombies and Ghosts Oh My!
The Old, Rare & Unusual
OBSCURE | WEIRD | OBSOLETE
Obscurity WordMap
A BEAUTIFUL WORD ... a vocabulary site for logophiles, writers and word lovers that is part of
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
Collection of Vocabulary Books, Sites and Resources
Series Homepage | View Sites | Download Books
Words are also posted on twitter under the hashtags #beautifulwords and #wordoftheday and shared visually on pinterest bulletin boards
ABOUT SITE | SITEMAPS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
Homepage | Portfolio | Contact
Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS
Collection of Vocabulary Books, Sites and Resources
Series Homepage | View Sites | Download Books
Words are also posted on twitter under the hashtags #beautifulwords and #wordoftheday and shared visually on pinterest bulletin boards
ABOUT SITE | SITEMAPS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
Content by Kairos ~ @kairosoflife
Homepage | Portfolio | Contact
Original content © 2021 Copyright, Kairos
