Category: Word lovers

Amanuensis (noun) [uhmanyooh’ensuhs] Did you know this is a fancy word for “secretary”? It comes from Ancient Rome when an amanuensis was employed to take dictation or copy manuscripts. These days it can refer to any kind of secretary or assistant that helps with words. So you might say: “My manuscript

Eponymous (adjective) [uh’ponuhmuhs] This comes from the Greek word “eponym” (meaning “significant name”) and is the name of the person after whom a label or place or product or invention is named. So you refer to “Ivanka Trump’s eponymous label that was dropped by the department store Nordstrom.” Listen to Valerie

Lacustrine (adjective) [luh’kustruyn] Thanks for Matthew Morrison @acutemattiosis for pinging us this word which he, in turn, read in a tweet by Rob Macfarlane. “Lacustrine” usually refers to things like plants or animals that live or occur on or in lakes. So you must say “That’s a lacustrine plant” if it’s

Abstruse (adjective) [uhb’stroohs] If you think this word is hard to understand then you would be right! It actually means “difficult to understand or esoteric”. So you might say that “He had an abstruse approach to solving the problem.” Listen to Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on the

Callipygian (adjective) [kal-uh-pij-ee-uh n] Believe it or not, this means “a well rounded bum”! So you would say “Kim Kardashian has made a business out of trading off her callipygian figure.” Listen to Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on the world of writing, blogging and publishing.

Ignoble (adjective) [ig-noh-buhl] When the letters ig are in front of an n, that usually mean “not” so this simply means “not noble”. The Macquarie Dictionary goes on to say that it’s of “low character” or “low grade”. So you might say “He had ignoble motives.” To hear Valerie and Allison chat more

Lubricious (adjective) [loo-brish-uh s] According to the book 500 Words Your Should Know: “Another word for lewd, lascivious or indeed libidinous, though this is more formal than any of them. It’s from the same Latin root as lubricate and lubricant, with their implications of slipperiness and reducing friction. Enough said, don’t you think?”

Pulchritude (noun) [pul-chri-tude] It seems like such an ugly looking word but it means the opposite. The Macquarie Dictionary defines it as “beauty” or “comeliness”. So you might say: “The actress Robin Wright is a woman of great pulchritude.” Listen to Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on the world of

Anomia (noun) [uh-noh-mee-uh] This is the loss of the ability to name objects or recall names. So you might say “As he got older he began experiencing anomia.” We occasionally experience it in day-to-day situations too – when a word or name is “on the tip of our tongue” but we

Sophistry (noun) [soff-uh-stree] This generally means “a false argument or reasoning”. So you might say: “John tried to use sophistry to hide his illegal actions from the tax agency.” (From wordsinasentence.com) Listen to Valerie and Allison chat more about this and more on the world of writing, blogging and publishing.  

Nomenclature (noun) [noh-MEN-kla-cher] I love this word and actually use it all the time. According to the Macquarie Dictionary it is: “a set or system of names or terms, as those used in a particular science or art by an individual or community”. So you might say something like “Make