# Newest words you have learned **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294 "2004-06-26T07:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/21 "2004-06-27T22:40:48Z")
Diametrically (used in the figurative sense) ---
**Author:** ![b\_anthracis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@b\_anthracis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/b_anthracis)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/22 "2004-06-28T01:00:59Z")
One of my favorite vocabulary acquisitions is “defenestrate” - having studied the French language for many a moon, I had a good idea of the meaning, but now that I’ve read a definition for the term it’s proved most useful in meetings, e.g.: “If John would be so kind as to allow me to defenestrate his point…” Folks not paying attention assume you mean “demonstrate”, and with the consenting nods you’re granted permission to throw something out the window. Can’t beat it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/23 "2004-06-28T02:11:19Z")
My fav is penultimate. It means next to the last. I first heard it in an old silly song called _Have some Madeira, m’dear_ I’m also partial to plethora, and flummoxed. I use trice occasionally **START** priapic means phallic, from the Roman God, Priapus. The god of male sexual power. **Wikkit** You mean methylethylkillyounow chemicals? :eek: **b\_anthracis**"fenestrate" is used in medicine it means to make a hole into something. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/24 "2004-06-28T02:24:47Z")
[Lobtailing](http://www.michaelunold.com/whalest/pages/lobtailing.html) Not the latest I have learned, but the last really cool one. ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/25 "2004-06-28T02:47:11Z")
I’m on the “Word-a-Day” emial list as well. My favorite so far: Scrofulous. Don’t have the word-a-day def any more, but according to Webster’s: Main Entry: scrof·u·lous Pronunciation: -l&s Function: adjective 1 : of, relating to, or affected with scrofula 2 a : having a diseased run-down appearance b : morally contaminated Definition 2 fits my boss perfectly, especially with the add-on “fool”. He’s a scrofulous fool. Kinda melts in your mouth, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/26 "2004-06-28T04:47:02Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > I hope I did the spoiler thing right. To use the spoiler tag, type it with brackets like this [spoiler] and [/spoiler] (without the spaces, of course) I like the word ubiquitous. It just has a nice ring to it. I didn’t know about m-w’s word of the day. I just signed up. ---
**Author:** ![Xerxes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d2c977/32.png) [@Xerxes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xerxes)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/27 "2004-06-28T11:05:47Z")
> [@b\_anthracis](#): > > One of my favorite vocabulary acquisitions is “defenestrate” - having studied the French language for many a moon, I had a good idea of the meaning, but now that I’ve read a definition for the term it’s proved most useful in meetings, e.g.: > “If John would be so kind as to allow me to defenestrate his point…” Folks not paying attention assume you mean “demonstrate”, and with the consenting nods you’re granted permission to throw something out the window. Can’t beat it! 😃 I’ve always thought that defenestrate is the wrong word for throwing something out of a window - it should perhaps be exfenestrate. Defenestrate should be the _removal_ of a window, c.f. declaw, declassify, derail etc. But I guess it’s not going to change. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/28 "2004-06-28T11:46:38Z")
I find “sesquipedalian” amusing because it’s autological, ie. describes itself. Other autological words include “short”, “English”, and, in my opinion “euphonius”. The opposite is “heterological”, words which don’t, for instance, “long”, “Anglais”, “table” and “however”. Pop quiz: what word in the english language is neither autological nor heterlogical. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/29 "2004-06-28T11:51:41Z")
Heterological, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/30 "2004-06-28T23:57:01Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I use trice occasionally Never heard that one, thanks. > [@](#): > > **Wikkit** You mean methylethylkillyounow chemicals? :eek: Ooh, that’s a good one, I’ll have to remember that. I used to work with methylethylketone, aka MEK, and it was nasty stuff. 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane is the stuff in canned “air”, and sodium hexametaphosphate is used for soil dispersion and as a food additive (like in fake lemonade). Not that anyone was curious. ---
**Author:** ![SkyClad72724](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@SkyClad72724](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyClad72724)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294/31 "2004-06-29T12:45:05Z")
**widdershins** (counterclockwise) **deosil** (clockwise) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newest-words-you-have-learned/252294.md?page=1)