Peter Creasey
September 25th, 2008, 05:29 PM
I've never figured out what all the Dixonary postings here are, but the following might of interest to the Dixonary folks...
Old words die hard at Collins dictionary...The introduction of 2,000 new words into the new edition has put some of the older ones under threat. Reluctant to let them die out altogether, the nitid wordsmiths at Collins have drawn up a list of 24 near-extinct words (including ?nitid?, which means bright or glistening), some of which can be saved if they receive sufficient public support:
Astergent - cleansing or scouring
Agrestic - rural, rustic, unpolished, uncouth
Apodeictic - unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration
Caducity - perishableness, senility
Calignosity - dimness, darkness
Compossible - possible in coexistence with something else
Embrangle - confuse or entangle
Exuviate - to shed (a skin or similar outer covering)
Fatidical - prophetic
Fusby - short, stout or squat
Griseous - streaked or mixed with grey
Malison - a curse
Manseutude - gentleness or kindness
Muliebrity - the condition of being a woman
Niddering - cowardly
Nitid - bright, glistening
Oppugnant - combative, antagonistic or contrary
Olid - foul-smelling
Periapt - combative, antagonistic or contrary
Recrement - waste matter, refuse dross
Roborant - tending to fortify or increase strength
Skirr - a whirring or grating sound as made by the wings of birds in flight
Vaticinate - to foretell, prophesy
Old words die hard at Collins dictionary...The introduction of 2,000 new words into the new edition has put some of the older ones under threat. Reluctant to let them die out altogether, the nitid wordsmiths at Collins have drawn up a list of 24 near-extinct words (including ?nitid?, which means bright or glistening), some of which can be saved if they receive sufficient public support:
Astergent - cleansing or scouring
Agrestic - rural, rustic, unpolished, uncouth
Apodeictic - unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration
Caducity - perishableness, senility
Calignosity - dimness, darkness
Compossible - possible in coexistence with something else
Embrangle - confuse or entangle
Exuviate - to shed (a skin or similar outer covering)
Fatidical - prophetic
Fusby - short, stout or squat
Griseous - streaked or mixed with grey
Malison - a curse
Manseutude - gentleness or kindness
Muliebrity - the condition of being a woman
Niddering - cowardly
Nitid - bright, glistening
Oppugnant - combative, antagonistic or contrary
Olid - foul-smelling
Periapt - combative, antagonistic or contrary
Recrement - waste matter, refuse dross
Roborant - tending to fortify or increase strength
Skirr - a whirring or grating sound as made by the wings of birds in flight
Vaticinate - to foretell, prophesy