What are some of your favorite words? Found this and thought of you guys.
A four letter word that can't be said here without it being removed
Two of my favorite words are in Spanish.
One is “ojala.” (Pronounced oh-ha-LAH) It means perhaps with a hopeful tone to it as in “Ojala if it’s not raining tomorrow we’ll go to the beach.” It’s derived from the Arabic “inshallah” meaning “God willing.” Spain was occupied by the Moors for 500 years and a large percentage of Spanish vocabulary is derived from Arabic.
The other is “coyuntura.” It literally means a joint (as in your elbow) but in Mexico it has another meaning, that of a constellation of events that present a unique window of opportunity.
Now that I think of it, there’s another favorite word, another “Mexicanismo” (a word unique to Mexican Spanish). “Zopilote” (zoh-pee-LOH-tay) is a Mexican word for vulture. It’s derived from the indigenous Nahuatl language. Whenever I see a vulture that’s the word that comes to mind.
Many years ago I heard this song during a news report on then current events in Argentina, which were pretty dire. The reporter ended the segment by saying, “And yet in the coffeehouses the people still sing, ‘Ojala, ojala.’” It ended with this song. I never forgot it and a couple of years ago found it on YouTube.
A few of my faves- wine, bbq, vacation, sleep, snuggles...
@Babichev wow thanks for sharing, so cool. @Mike403 we can't swear on here? @robroo those are some lovely words 🥰
@robroo I like how you think here and on some other posts. Lol. @Babichev I thoroughly enjoyed this.
One of my favourites is "amalgamative" in part because it's fun to say.
I like 'Perfidious', 'Spaghettification' and 'Mohorovicic Discontinuity'. They're all very fun to say lol
@TeaBabe @achetocuddle Thanks. I'm a simple man with simple pleasures 😆
@LadyAmarynth spagettification 😂
@LadyAmarynth omg I looked it up! not what I thought that word would mean!
Oh, spaghettification! Yes! Love that.
Stochastic ooze. I know, it’s a phrase, two words, but hey. I lie awake at night worrying about stochastic ooze.
Malarkey. I like that word. It’s not used often enough.
Here’s NDT explaining spaghettification. Just prior to the beginning of this segment he’s explaining how the force of gravity is greater on your feet than on your head but because of scale we don’t feel it on earth. If you fell into a black hole, however, that would be an entirely different matter.
@TeaBabe Good thread:)
I'm just gonna try to hang on and learn these new interesting words. Lol.
Comestibles, madness, abomination, manacles.....I am thinking of the darkest dungeon. I like a lot of the language in that
"Its destruction is a small consolation, given the implications of its terrible existence."
I have always liked the word vociferous for some reason.
Cwtch is a good one.
Cwtch is a Welsh language and Welsh-English dialect word meaning a cuddle or embrace, but with a sense of offering safety. The word has been described as "impossible to translate," but concise and short English dictionaries often equate cwtch to words like cuddle, snuggle or hug. However, these translations are considered synonymous at best and not effective translations or coeval terms. None of the common English synonyms contain the word's evocation of a "safe place," but that aspect has persevered in a secondary definition of the word as a "hiding place, recess or cubbyhole."
Cwtch is a Welsh language and Welsh-English dialect word meaning a cuddle or embrace, but with a sense of offering safety.
The word has been described as "impossible to translate," but concise and short English dictionaries often equate cwtch to words like cuddle, snuggle or hug. However, these translations are considered synonymous at best and not effective translations or coeval terms.
None of the common English synonyms contain the word's evocation of a "safe place," but that aspect has persevered in a secondary definition of the word as a "hiding place, recess or cubbyhole."
@TeaBabe lol sorry if I just ruined a wholesome thread with cosmic horror
@LadyAmarynth: In my opinion, horror can only ever enhance whatever it's introduced to. Consider the deeper comfort provided by a cwtch after you realize spaghettification is a thing!
Zhong xin - single-mindedness in Chinese. 中心
@cylee1180: That's a word in Japanese as well, written just that way!
In Japanese it's pronounced chū shin, and means center, middle, heart, core, nucleus, focus, pivot, emphasis, or balance. Literally, "middle heart."
The way words in related languages sometimes shed light on one another fascinates me. I love it when that happens.
Ooooh, stochastic ooze. That's a good one @Babichev.
"Gigil" is a Filipino term that has no English counterpart. One way to describe it is that it's the rush of emotions that may be provoked by--for example--the sight of something that you find adorable. You may want to sigh, kiss, squeal, hug, et cetera to express how you feel. Like when a dog lover is tempted to squeeze a puppy 'cause it's so frickin' cute.
They're not puppies, but here are my sweet boys--frequent targets of my gigil attacks.
A word I find pleasant to hear: 'Mellifluous'... 😂
All these wonderful words DO remind me of the phrase "cellar door"... 😊
One of my old French teachers told a story about some friends of hers that came to America for their honeymoon and when they went back to France with child on the way, decided to name them after what they though was the most melodic and smooth english phrase, in order to remember the trip that led to their conception:
So they named the kid Cellar door. Spelled different, sure, but same vibe lol @jaswbrown
@LadyAmarynth - I would be very interested to see how they would have spelt it. Did they happen to mention where in the United States they spent their honeymoon? I have often been amused how much I have had French coworkers ask why there are so many different American accents, and why mine sounded so different from my other colleagues from Las Vegas. I feel most who have been in Vegas for quite some time speak with a very neutral American accent, but I have also lived in Oxfordshire for five years and have adopted some aspects of the Oxford accent when speaking English with the British or Europeans. Sadly, my children didn't retain their accents, despite having attended primary school in England.
I happen to find 'cellar door' more phonaesthetically pleasing in the Oxford accent than any of the American accents.
@jaswbrown Sadly it was very much a 'friend of a friend' kind of story, so I'm lacking the details. Your post jogged my memory just enough to remember it lol. Going off of context, the teacher in question was a Southerner living I believe in Georgia at the time? But again, I wasn't privy to the minutiae :P
Precocious, equanimity, vicissitudes, blight, plight and another one I like
Deepity like ditity from Carlos mencia
@DaringSprinter, I think I just took a picture of cwtch
These are all great. Found another one!
