Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Wondrous Words Wednesday



Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermuda Onion where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky! 



finished Prague last week.
samizdat - "The press's catalog of samizat was patently unprofitable, comprising mostly journals and essays: brutal descriptions of life under Communism, philosophical treatises on living honestly amid dishonesty and betrayal, hopelessly fantastical and irrelevant then retrospectively amazing and prophetic imaginings of a future democratic Hungary's structure and soul."
I consulted Merriam-Webster:
: a system in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and countries within its orbit by which government-suppressed literature was clandestinely printed and distributed; also :such literature
Origin of SAMIZDAT
Russian, from sam- self- + izdatel'stvo publishing house
First Known Use: 1967


Also from Prague:
fratultery - "John Price smoked a slow cigarette on his balcony, kissed the photos of his antique wife and child good night, then lay on his folded bed's covers, unable to file the events of the day, the head injury and fratultery."
This word is not in most dictionaries. I found this definition at Jacanaent.
: an affair between a man and his brother's girlfriend or fiancé

Again from Prague:
oneiric - "This perennial, gaudy oneiric bloom sprouted from seeds planted Halloween of 1990, when, floating over other guests" heads on a slightly raised platform, Emily really did wear football shoulder pads under a green Philadelphia Eagles jersey, and her tight white pants, although convincingly gridironic, were in fact a pair of her favorite casual slacks."
I used Merriam-Webster:
: of or relating to dreams : dreamy
— onei·ri·cal·ly adverb
Origin of ONEIRIC
Greek oneiros dream; akin to Armenian anurǰ dream
First Known Use: 1859

5 comments:

  1. 3 rather astonishing words there- I would have needed to look them up too.

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  2. I bet I look up a form of oneiric every time I encounter it.

    and fratultery?! but of course, they have a word for THAT. oh my.

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  3. I bet I look up a form of oneiric every time I encounter it.

    and fratultery?! but of course, they have a word for THAT. oh my.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Three different words for me, thanks! for sharing.

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  5. Those words are new to me, but fratultery makes total sense when you see it's meaning.

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