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
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DIRECTORY OF OBSCURITY
The Old, Rare & Unusual
OBSCURE | WEIRD | OBSOLETE
Obscurity WordMap
WORD LISTS SPECIAL FEATURES WORDS FROM OTHER CATEGORIES
- Obscure Words from Language Category
- Nonsense ~ Gibberish ~ Grandiloquent ~ Oddities ~ Whimsical ~ Quirky ~ Bizarre ~ Sensory ~ Boring ~ Hyphenated
WEIRD AND WACKY
OBSCURITY OF THE NORM
obscure words for the ordinary & normal
THE GREAT RESURRECTION
bringing the best obsolete words back
DIRECTORY OF WORDS
SOME WEIRD PEOPLE
PHYSIOLOGY | WORDS | THINGS | NATURE
- The Word of the People - People Words
- A Woman’s Touch - Female Words
- Scowl of a Scoundrel - Trickster Words
- A Call for Action - Action Words
PHYSIOLOGY | WORDS | THINGS | NATURE
A WOMAN’S TOUCH
Weird Female Words
DEFINING WORD:
MULIEBRITY - womanliness
WOMEN BY THE AGE
WOMEN OF PERSONALITY
BEARCAT - woman with a lot of spirit and a hot temper
HOYDEN - a boisterous woman who was known for having lots of opinions and refusing to keep quiet.
IRON PANTS - a chaste woman
JADE - a bad-tempered or disreputable woman
QUEAN - an impudent girl or woman
QUIDNUNC - an inquisitive, gossipy woman
ROUNDHEELS - loose woman
SAUCEBOX - sassy woman
SCOLD - a woman who nags or grumbles constantly
WOMEN BY THEIR TRADE
BOOKWOMAN - woman who loves literature or reading; a female book expert or collector. Also (occasionally) a female writer; a woman of letters.
COIFFEUSE - a woman hairdresser
FISHWIFE - a woman who sells fish but she’s known to be loud-mouthed, rude, and inclined to swearing. A fishwife may also also be hysterical, shrill or bossy. In other words, unfeminine.
HANDMAID - a female servant
HASH-SLINGER - waitress
HATCHET WOMAN - a woman who carried out unpleasant tasks
PYTHONESS - a woman believed to be possessed by a spirit and to be able to foresee the future
TWEENY - a maid who assisted both the cook and the housemaid
THE “WORKING” WOMEN
MUTTON DRESSED AS LAMB - Mutton is an obsolete slang word for prostitute. Today, mutton dressed as lamb is a woman who doesn’t dress her age. In other words, past her sell-by date and kind of slutty.
Other words for prostitutes:
SEDUCTIVE HELLCAT WOMEN
A WOMAN’S LOOK
BUTTER AND EGG FLY - an attractive woman, with allure and flirtatiousness and has a lot of admirers
DRAB - a slovenly woman
JIZZIE - an unattractive woman
PRIME ARTICLE - the aesthetic cream of the crop or the most beautiful person in the room, the stunner men flicked to
SHEBA - alluring woman with the kind of raunchy sex appeal that makes everybody, including inanimate objects, weak in the knees.
MUMSY - an old-fashioned appearance - like a stereotypical mother - homely or drab. The implication being that mothers are by and large pretty unattractive.
TCHOTCHKE - an unconventional and unattractive woman
STEREOTYPES WOMEN WERE DESCRIBED AS:
Common stereotypes of women included:
BOMBSHELL - typically used as “'blonde bombshell' and she is a knockout.
BOLSHY - word related to 'ambitious', 'abrasive' and 'bossy'.
BREATHLESS - applied to women who look 'flustered' and suggesting an inability to control her emotions, or sexuality a la Marilyn Monroe's 'breathy tones'.
BUBBLY - 'lively, animated or excited; a silly woman. It's most commonly accompanied by a patronizing tone and rolling of the eyes.
EMOTIONAL - word is commonly thrown at any woman who dares mention how she feels, raises her voice, or wells-up with tears.
ETHEREAL - used to describe a woman's physical beauty, suggesting a delicate form.
Fawn-like - delicate' self.
FEISTY - the etymology of feisty goes back to the Middle English meaning of “breaking wind.” Today, it almost sounds like a compliment. It refers to women who are tough, independent and spirited – usually when you wouldn’t expect them to be.
GOSSIPY - in the 1300s, a gossip was a female friend invited to attend a birth. By the 1560s, it was anyone engaged in idle talk. By 1811, it meant spreading “groundless rumors”. Whatever the meaning, it implies superficiality and a lack of trustworthiness.
HEADSTRONG - energetically wilful and determined
HYSTERICAL - an old Victorian condition, just like 'frigidity' - it is still applied to women in the form of the adjective 'hysterical.’ Not to be confused with the other meaning of 'hysterical' - being 'hilarious'.
FRIGID - a woman acking sexual responsiveness that even the dictionary defines that meaning as being "especially of a woman.”
FRUMPY - comes from the Middle English word frumplen meaning “to wrinkle.” Frumpy means dowdy
PRUDE - is related to the word proud but means someone shocked by sex or nudity, especially a woman who displays extreme modesty, and is often used as an insult when she’s not “up for it”.
PUSHY - related to 'ambitious', 'bossy' and 'abrasive'. 'Pushy' is another word that sums up gender inequality but it's also an adjective to describe mothers who are heavily involved in their children's lives and education (modern term: 'Tiger Mother’)
SASSY - commonly used to describe a woman with a strong personality and often linked to sexuality and race. Rarely ever meant in a positive context unless it reduces women to stereotypes.
SHREW - time-honored literary term for an unpleasant, ill-tempered woman, popularized by William Shakespeare in The Taming of the Shrew. Katharina has “a scolding shrewish tongue” that Petruchio tries to tame. In other words, she didn’t know her place.
SHRILL - used to describe a female high-pitched voice. (also: shrieking)
VOLUPTUOUS - 'curvy', but with sexual undertones. Defined in the dictionary as being 'especially of a woman'.
WHINGING - a complaining woman is said to be 'whinging'.
MULIEBRITY - womanliness
WOMEN BY THE AGE
- ANILE - feeble old woman
- BELDAM - an old woman
- COOKIE PUSHER - wealthy young woman
- DEMOISELLE - young, unmarried woman
- GAMMER - an old woman
- FIZGIG - a silly or flirtatious young woman
- HERRING - an incorruptible girl. Herring was the brand of safe that couldn’t be dynamited open.
- HIGH JUMPER - young woman fond of liquor
- KELSEY - a young woman
- MUGBUG - girl who gives in easily, the opposite of a herring which referred to an incorruptible girl.
- NYMPH - a beautiful young woman
- PULLET - young woman
- THORNBACK - defined as a sea skate covered with thorny spines, this term was used in the 17th century to describe single women older than 25
WOMEN OF PERSONALITY
BEARCAT - woman with a lot of spirit and a hot temper
HOYDEN - a boisterous woman who was known for having lots of opinions and refusing to keep quiet.
IRON PANTS - a chaste woman
JADE - a bad-tempered or disreputable woman
QUEAN - an impudent girl or woman
QUIDNUNC - an inquisitive, gossipy woman
ROUNDHEELS - loose woman
SAUCEBOX - sassy woman
SCOLD - a woman who nags or grumbles constantly
WOMEN BY THEIR TRADE
BOOKWOMAN - woman who loves literature or reading; a female book expert or collector. Also (occasionally) a female writer; a woman of letters.
COIFFEUSE - a woman hairdresser
FISHWIFE - a woman who sells fish but she’s known to be loud-mouthed, rude, and inclined to swearing. A fishwife may also also be hysterical, shrill or bossy. In other words, unfeminine.
HANDMAID - a female servant
HASH-SLINGER - waitress
HATCHET WOMAN - a woman who carried out unpleasant tasks
PYTHONESS - a woman believed to be possessed by a spirit and to be able to foresee the future
- SYBIL - a female fortune teller
TWEENY - a maid who assisted both the cook and the housemaid
THE “WORKING” WOMEN
MUTTON DRESSED AS LAMB - Mutton is an obsolete slang word for prostitute. Today, mutton dressed as lamb is a woman who doesn’t dress her age. In other words, past her sell-by date and kind of slutty.
Other words for prostitutes:
- CUDDLE CUTIE
- GROUSE
- ZOYNEH
- LOUSYLIZ - a cheap prostitute
- MAGDALEN - a reformed prostitute
SEDUCTIVE HELLCAT WOMEN
- COQUETTE- a seductive woman who deceived or manipulated men
- DOXY - a mistress
- LEFT-HANDED WIFE - a kept woman
- PAZNAZKI - a loose woman
A WOMAN’S LOOK
BUTTER AND EGG FLY - an attractive woman, with allure and flirtatiousness and has a lot of admirers
DRAB - a slovenly woman
JIZZIE - an unattractive woman
PRIME ARTICLE - the aesthetic cream of the crop or the most beautiful person in the room, the stunner men flicked to
SHEBA - alluring woman with the kind of raunchy sex appeal that makes everybody, including inanimate objects, weak in the knees.
MUMSY - an old-fashioned appearance - like a stereotypical mother - homely or drab. The implication being that mothers are by and large pretty unattractive.
TCHOTCHKE - an unconventional and unattractive woman
STEREOTYPES WOMEN WERE DESCRIBED AS:
Common stereotypes of women included:
BOMBSHELL - typically used as “'blonde bombshell' and she is a knockout.
BOLSHY - word related to 'ambitious', 'abrasive' and 'bossy'.
BREATHLESS - applied to women who look 'flustered' and suggesting an inability to control her emotions, or sexuality a la Marilyn Monroe's 'breathy tones'.
BUBBLY - 'lively, animated or excited; a silly woman. It's most commonly accompanied by a patronizing tone and rolling of the eyes.
EMOTIONAL - word is commonly thrown at any woman who dares mention how she feels, raises her voice, or wells-up with tears.
ETHEREAL - used to describe a woman's physical beauty, suggesting a delicate form.
Fawn-like - delicate' self.
FEISTY - the etymology of feisty goes back to the Middle English meaning of “breaking wind.” Today, it almost sounds like a compliment. It refers to women who are tough, independent and spirited – usually when you wouldn’t expect them to be.
GOSSIPY - in the 1300s, a gossip was a female friend invited to attend a birth. By the 1560s, it was anyone engaged in idle talk. By 1811, it meant spreading “groundless rumors”. Whatever the meaning, it implies superficiality and a lack of trustworthiness.
HEADSTRONG - energetically wilful and determined
HYSTERICAL - an old Victorian condition, just like 'frigidity' - it is still applied to women in the form of the adjective 'hysterical.’ Not to be confused with the other meaning of 'hysterical' - being 'hilarious'.
FRIGID - a woman acking sexual responsiveness that even the dictionary defines that meaning as being "especially of a woman.”
FRUMPY - comes from the Middle English word frumplen meaning “to wrinkle.” Frumpy means dowdy
PRUDE - is related to the word proud but means someone shocked by sex or nudity, especially a woman who displays extreme modesty, and is often used as an insult when she’s not “up for it”.
PUSHY - related to 'ambitious', 'bossy' and 'abrasive'. 'Pushy' is another word that sums up gender inequality but it's also an adjective to describe mothers who are heavily involved in their children's lives and education (modern term: 'Tiger Mother’)
SASSY - commonly used to describe a woman with a strong personality and often linked to sexuality and race. Rarely ever meant in a positive context unless it reduces women to stereotypes.
SHREW - time-honored literary term for an unpleasant, ill-tempered woman, popularized by William Shakespeare in The Taming of the Shrew. Katharina has “a scolding shrewish tongue” that Petruchio tries to tame. In other words, she didn’t know her place.
SHRILL - used to describe a female high-pitched voice. (also: shrieking)
VOLUPTUOUS - 'curvy', but with sexual undertones. Defined in the dictionary as being 'especially of a woman'.
WHINGING - a complaining woman is said to be 'whinging'.
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
