Day 8: Unusual words

Admittedly I probably should have started writing this post before now  -- I am, after all, leaving for the cinema in ten minutes. However, I was much too engrossed with 'The Princess Bride', the original novel of a film I've always adored. The film is sort of a cult classic. There'll hopefully be a post all about the book in the next couple of days.

For now, I present to you a list of strange words (all of them English) that you have probably never heard used but which I recommend you try to fit into everyday conversation. It's fun.

Accouchement (from old French) - Giving birth to a child
Cineaste – A film or movie enthusiast

Jambiya (a word loaned from Arabic) – A type of Middle Eastern curved dagger

Oration – A formal speech

Pundit – A learned man; an authority in a certain field

Recalcitrance – Disobedience or opposition

*Erinaceous – Of the hedgehog family

Yuko – An award of five points in judo

*Limerence – The state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person

*Logorrhea – An excessive flow of words, prolixity

*Abactor – Cattle thief

*Jalouse – To suspect; to be jealous of

Tabefaction – Wasting away

Macarism – Taking pleasure in another’s joy

Kalology – The study of beauty

All but those with a * next to them are taken directly from, or adapted from, the entry in the Chambers Dictionary. The others are from Google.