March 2005 Archives
Stupidity: unasinous
Words OED has only from other Dictionaries: epulose;
queme; nexility; spermologist; antipelargy; furfuration; testiculose
(cromulent)
Saints Preservèd: Lazy
"Untranslatable" Foreign Words: mamihlapinatapei;
saudade; gezellig; pochemuchka; kloshar; ilunga
Stupidity
Sometimes it seems that stupidity and
foolishness pervade everything. Perhaps that's why we have so many words for
it. To take a hundred-odd:
airhead;
asinine; ass; bilge; birdbrain; birdbrain; blockhead; blunder; blunderbuss;
bonehead; boob; booby; brainless; brute; butthead; chowderhead; chucklehead;
chump; clod; cluck; clunk; daft; dimwit; dingbat; dingleberry; dingus; dip;
dodo; dolt; donkey; doofus; dope; dork; drivel; dull; dumb; dumbbell; dumbo;
dum-dum; dummkopf; dummy; dunce; dupe; fathead; fatuity; featherbrain;
flibbertigibbet; fool; frivolous; fuzzyheaded; gaga; goof; goofball; goon;
half-wit; headless; howler; idiot; imbecile; imbecile; jackass; klutz;
knucklehead; lamebrain; light-minded; lout; lummox; lumpish; lunkhead;
meatball; meathead; moron; mutt; muttonhead; nimrod; nincompoop; nitwit;
noodle; numskull; oaf; obstinate; palooka; pinhead; prune; ridiculous; schlep;
schlub; schmo; schmuck; schnook; senseless; sheepish; silly; simple-minded;
sodden; stupid; thick; thickhead; thick-witted; tomfool; vacuous; woodenhead;
yap; yo-yo.
This week we'll enjoy a few more sophisticated words in the same vein.
unasinous – being equally stupid.
Here were
representatives of three different, unasinous points of view,
each deeply opposed to the others, and yet all attacking her!"
– David Brin, Earth
So go your ways, you Uncivil Ecclesiastics, Inhuman Divines, Dedoctors of morality,
Unasinous Colleagues, Egregarious air of Issachars, most wretched
Vindices and Indices Academiatrum.
– Thomas Hobbes, in his decades-long debate with scientist John Wallis. (Hobbes
may have had the better of the words, but Wallis had the science.)
Words OED copied from other Dictionaries
With the new week, we'll start a new theme.
(We'll abandon the previous, incomplete 'stupidity' theme, but will perhaps
parcel out 'stupidity' words will as occasional bonuses this month.)
What is our new theme? Ah, that will be revealed later. Suffice it to say that
all the words will be such rare oddballs that I will not try to find
quotations.
epulose – feasting to excess
queme – to slip in, to
put in privately (e.g., to queme a thing into one's hand)
[Note: the term has other meanings, not mentioned here.]
nexility –
pithiness, compactness of speech
Today's word, spermologist, is not
what you might think.
spermologist – one who gathers seeds
This week's theme reveals a dirty little secret: dictionary-writers copy from
each other. Even the Oxford English Dictionary includes several thousand words
or meanings for which OED, having absolutely no example of the word actually
being used in context, is relying solely upon other dictionaries. This week we
are giving examples of such words.
Here are the OED citations for the words we've presented so far this week:
�.
epulose: 1731 in BAILEY vol. II. 1847
in CRAIG; and in mod. Dicts.
�.
queme: 1727 BAILEY vol. II, To
Queme, as to queme a Thing into one's Hand, to put it in privately.
�.
nexility: 1656 T. BLOUNT fastness,
pithiness, compactness of speech. [1721 N. BAILEY ]
�.
spermologist: 1727 BAILEY (vol. II), Spermologist,
a Gatherer of Seed. 1755 JOHNSON, Spermologist, one who gathers or
treats of seeds. [Hence in later Dicts.].
antipelargy – mutual kindness, esp. the kindness of an adult to his
or her aged parent
[OED cites Blount's 1656 Glossary and Bailey's 1731 dictionary.]
This week's words demonstrate that OED was quite willing to include words or
meanings on the sole authority of previous dictionaries or word-lists. It
includes almost 5,000 entries where it cannot show the word in actual use, and
relies dictionary-citations.¹
On the other hand, quite a few such words were omitted from OED. That
raises an interesting question: Why were some such words included and others
omitted? For example, was Bailey's dictionary considered an adequate source for
some, but not for others – and if so, why?
More to come on that question.
¹Almost all of
these are from sources that preceded OED or were concurrent. But a handful were
added later based on later sources.
furfuration – the shedding of dandruff
Although OED coyly says, "The shedding of the skin in small branny
particles," its supporting citations make it quite clear that we're
talking about shedding from the scalp:
1706
PHILLIPS (ed. Kersey), Furfuration, the falling of Dandriff or Scurf from the Head,
when it is comb'd. 1721 in BAILEY. 1854 in MAYNE Exp.
Lex.
We've seen that OED's original editors trusted certain earlier dictionaries
enough to include many words solely on the authority of those dictionaries.
Unfortunately, OED was not systematic in this. Its process for collecting such
words was haphazard. This was been explained by the late Robert Burchfield, who
was OED's chief editor for almost three decades, from 1957 to 1986:
[T]he pattern of admission was
governed as much by the choice made by the readers as by any abstract
principles adopted by the editors. If a reader made a slip for such an item it
was likely to be included, with small regard for consistency in words drawn
from other writers, in other parts of the Dictionary. Conversely a word that
was not copied by a reader had little chance of inclusion since the editorial
staff would almost certainly be unaware of its existence.
- Robert Burchfield, 'The Treatment of Controversial Vocabulary in the
In short, though OED lacks some words that
prior dictionaries include, its lack is not a principled exclusion. It is
simply a matter of inadvertent omission. Those words are just as much "words"
as those that OED included based on the same sources.
For today's word I give you OED's entry
verbatim, trusting that all are adult enough to understand. A slight hint:
'cod' does not mean a kind of fish. Think 'codpiece'.
testiculose – So testiculous 1721 BAILEY, Testiculous,
that hath great Cods. 1727 vol. II, Testiculose, that hath large Cods.
1775 in ASH.
What a shame that so useful a word has fallen into disuse. I don't know why.
It's a perfectly cromulent word.
Bonus word: cromulent – acceptable; legitimate
Miss Krabappel:
"I never heard that word before I moved to
Miss Hoover: "I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent
word."
– conversation, in episode of The Simpsons television show
'Cromulent' was coined in the television
episode noted above, and now generates almost 40,000 google hits. OED has not
yet accepted it. But OED editor Erin McKean includes it without reservation in
her book Weird and Wonderful Words.
Saints Preservèd
St. Valentine's Day, St. Nicholas,
Note: Anyone tempted to groan at the pun, in my title for this week's theme,
should be thankful that I did not title it "The Saints Go Marching
In."
Lazy
The term may simply be alliterative. But it may refer to St. Laurence, whose
feast day falls in the hottest part of summer. It is told that when St.
Laurence was burned as a martyr, he told his tormentors to turn him around,
being too lazy to turn himself.
Authoress Maria Edgeworth incorporated Lazy Lawrence into a children's fable, Lazy
Lawrence; or Industry and Idleness Contrasted, You can enjoy her fable
online as the second tale of her book, The
Parent's Assistant, or Stories For Children (link is to Guttenberg
text).
petrel – a type of
seabird
This bird often follows ships, and it flies very low over the water. Sailors
named it for St. Peter, who walked on water. Here is the original account
(excerpted):
The Petrel fly
very near the Water. They are not so often seen in fair Weather; being
Foul-weather Birds, as our Seamen call them, and presaging a Storm when they
come about a Ship; who for that Reason don't love to see them. In a Storm they
will hover close under the Ship's Stern, in the Wake of the Ship (as 'tis
call'd) or the Smoothness which the Ship's passing has made on the Sea: And
there as they fly (gently then) they pat the Water alternately with their Feet,
as if they walk'd upon it. tho' still upon the Wing. And from hence the Seamen
give them the Name of Petrels, in Allusion to St. Peter's walking upon the
- Dampier, Voyage in The Roebuck (1703) [text appears about 50
lines above the fourth group of asterisks, reading "* * * * * * * * * *
From my first setting"
tawdry – gaudy and
cheap; also, by extension: sordid; sleazy: her tawdry past)
shoddy – badly made or done; also, vulgar and pretensious; also,
amoral, sordid
St. Audrey has given us the word 'tawdry'. The story has several steps,
starting with the miracle associated with the saint.
St. Audrey died in 679 of a throat tumor which she considered God's punishment.
Some years later, when her body was moved to a new resting place, it was found
to be miraculously completely pristine, free from all decay. Bede tell the
story in a chapter titled "How … Her Body Suffered No Corruption in the
Grave".
…in her [final] sickness she had
a very great swelling under her jaw. It is reported, that when she was much
troubled with the aforesaid swelling and pain in her jaw, she was much pleased
with that sort of distemper, and wont to say, "I know that I deservedly
bear the weight of my sickness on my neck, for I remember, when I was very
young, I bore there the needless weight of jewels; and therefore I believe the
Divine goodness would have me endure the pain in my neck, that I may be
absolved from the guilt of my needless levity, having now, instead of gold and
precious stones, a red swelling and burning on my neck." The body, when
her grave was [later] opened, being brought into sight, was found as free from
corruption as if she had died and been buried on that very day.
– Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book IV
ch. xix (731)
Furthermore, and crucial to our tale, the
body's linen wrapping, equally undercayed, worked miracle cures upon the ill.
(Bede: "Besides, all the linen cloths in which the body had been
buried, appeared entire and as fresh as if they had been that very day wrapped
about her chaste limbs. It happened also that by the touch of that linen,
devils were expelled from bodies possessed, and other distempers were sometimes
cured.")
This legend became a natural marketing hook in the annual local fair
commemorating St. Audrey. Vendors there sold cheap cloth to wrap around the
neck, in St. Audrey's honor. These were of the low quality you would expect of
fair vendors, and were called called St. Audrey's lace.
As to pronounciation, recall that the name the name '
The word 'shoddy' (which is not a 'saint word') similarly changed from fabric
to a perjorative adjective. 'Shoddy' originally meant a kind of cloth made from
recycled wool rags with new wool added.
It's logical that the French gave St. Peter's
name to a certain herb that grows on rocks by the sea. For
The French called this plant herbe de
samphire – a certain plant, growing on rocks by the sea, whose leaves
are used in pickles
You will be
surprised by what you can conjure up with those odds and sods in
your store cupboard or fridge, plus one really fresh tempting seasonal thing.
I'm often surprised by what can be sourced from around the world to satisfy the
expectant diner. For example, samphire is now available from
- Mark Hix, The complements of the season, The Independent, Feb. 19,
2005
Bonus term: odds and sods – (
St. Mary Magdalen gives us two words.
magdalen; magdalene – a reformed prostitute; (also, a refuge for
such women or a reformatory for prostitutes)
[The repentant sinner in Luke 7:37 {OED erroneously says "8:37"}.is
generally understood to be a prostitute. It was long thought that the passage
referred to Mary Magdalen; today, many denominations take a different view.]
maudlin – with shallow, mawkish sentimentality; also, in the
drunken state of tearful sentimentality and effusive affection
[A shortening of the name of Mary Magdalen. She was generally depicted
as weeping, and 'maudlin' originally meant "tearful", later evolving
into its current meaning.]
I believe the Brits pronounce the name
Magdalen as 'maudlin', as in this limerick referring to Magdalen and
There once was a
Don of Divinity
Who made boast of his daughter's virginity.
They must have been dawdlin'
Down at old Magdalen –
It could never have happened at Trinity.
tantony – the runt
of a litter; also, the smallest bell in a church; also, one who
constantly, obsequiously follows after another
St. Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of swineherds, and the runt of the
litter was called 'Saint Anthony's pig", later shortened to "t'antony
pig". I'm not clear if 'tantony' can be applied to the runt of a litter of
puppies, cats, etc.
And here is an account of how the "obsequious followe"r meaning
arose, with a fine image of the little follower. "The
officers charged with the oversight of the markets in this city did divers
times take from the marketpeople pigs unwholesome for men's sustenance. One of
the Proctors of St. Antony tied a bell about the neck, and let it feed among
the dunghills, and no man would hurt it, or take it up; but if any gave them
bread, or other feeding, such they would know, watch for, and daily follow,
whining till they had something given them; whereupon was raised a proverb,
'such a one will follow such a one and whine as it were an Antony pig.'" –
Polly (having
lingered on the balcony long enough to recover her poise) re-entered the house.
She was claimed almost at once by the stammering young Viscount Sutcliffe, who
spent the rest of the evening following her about like a Tantony pig.
– Sheri Cobb South,
bedlam – a scene
of noisy disorder and confusion. (root sense: a madhouse)
barmy – odd, eccentric, daft, extremely foolish
[also, the adjective form of barm – the froth on beer, or on a
fermenting malt liquor]
Many inmates, if released as harmless, would wander the country as beggars, and
quite a few perfectly sane beggars feigned lunacy to help their trade.
Colloquially, folks called such a daft begger a bedlamite, tom o'bedlam,
barmy or abram man – contracted forms of the names
Note: I take this etymology from Ciardi. Other sources agree as to bedlam
and abram man.
But most have other views for this sense of barmy. Some link it with the
same meaning of balmy, sometimes deriving the former from the latter
(OED), but sometimes deriving the latter from the former (OED Dict. of
Etymology). Others derive barmy=daft from the barm=froth on beer.
I am persuaded by Ciardi's account, given of the parallel history of bedlam
and abram men. But I've not been able to find data to confirm or refute.
"Untranslatable" Foreign Words
Last year a London-based translation service
published a list of "the ten most untranslatable words," as determined
by a poll of over 1,000 translators.
This week we'll examine some foreign words of that sort, both from that list
and otherwise. Some will be from major languages, some from obscure tongues. As
we view them we'll see various senses of what could be meant by
"untranslatable". (PS: Data is limited. So if I have erred, forgive
me and enjoy the errors.)
mamihlapinatapei – a shared glance of longing between two people, each
knowing the meaning and each wishing the other will initiate something where
neither is quite willing to make the move.
This word, cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most
succinct word", is from the Fuegian language of Tierra del Fuego at the
extreme southern tip of South America. Credit here to They Have a Word For
It by Howard Rheingold. I am unable to find any information on this word,
other than obvious takings from the Rheingold book.
saudade (Portuguese)
– roughly, "sorrowful longing". Depending on context, can have the sense
of homesickness, yearning for someone, fond remembrance, melancholy and fond
memories of gone-by days, lost love, and a general feeling of unhappiness.
More generally, a combination of feelings for something or someone that is not
there, with you: missing, longing for, remembrance, a closeness that is no
longer there. The absence may be permanent or temporary. Applicable in contexts
from romantic to sentimental to physical. One can feel saudades of his/her
homeland, when living abroad; saudades of a deceased person; saudades of a
situation, a time, a toy, a feeling. One nuance: it is a positive-valued
concept.
Etymology: probably from Latin for 'solitude'. Some say it came to life
during the Great Portuguese Discoveries, expressing the sadness of those who
departed in journeys over the unknown seas. Those who stayed behind—mostly
women and children—also deeply suffered with their absence, and such state has
almost become a "portuguese way of life": the constant feeling of
absence, the sadness of something that's missing.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks to many, particularly to translator
Neila Carneiro, and to the Brazilian consulate, for help on this subtle word.
Further thoughts about this word will be posted shortly in our
"Untranslatable Words" forum.
How to describe
today's word? One source notes, "The most frequent translation of gezellig
is 'cozy,' [but] being alone and wrapped up in a blanket on the couch while
reading a good book is cozy, but not gezellig. Gezelligheid is not possible
without the secure bonds of family [or] friendship."
gezellig (Dutch) – cozy, in the sense of being with people;
with comfortable congeniality;
with the homey, relaxed feeling of being with people with whom one feels a
sense of "belonging", of being in a welcoming, sheltering and
tolerant place
pochemuchka (Russian) – the inquisitive child who nags with constant
questions
[from Russian pochemu "why". So the literal sense is something
like "Mr. Why guy".]
You have mixed feelings about such a child, whose curiousity is laudable and
adorable, but terribly taxing!
kloshar (or klloshar)
(Albanian) - tramp, vagrant, homeless person; with the sense of 'loser'
I'm told that the word originates from the
French word "clochard" which has the above given meaning.
I mentioned, as you recall, that a
London-based translation service recently published a list of "the ten
most untranslatable words." Here is the word rated the most untranslatable
of all.
ilunga – a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time;
to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time.
[from Tshiluba, a Bantu language spoken in south-eastern Congo and in
Zaire]
Or so they say. But I have my doubts, for a web-search reveals that 'Ilunga' is
a reasonably common surname or first name. One would hardly take the above
concept as one's name.