# What is your favorite esoteric word in your vocabulary? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403 "2010-02-02T16:57:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/61 "2010-02-04T08:30:24Z")
Valetudinarian (noun or adjective): weak or sickly person, especially one morbidly concerned with his or her health. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/62 "2010-02-04T09:47:56Z")
**Picayune** Also, **Askance** , I believe you want the word \*\*Aglet \*\*for your shoelace end, not **Anglet**. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/63 "2010-02-04T12:06:58Z")
**Virago** - Female warrior, heroine. Caution, however, because apparently among the few people who know the term it has come to mean something like ‘harpy’. **Hobbledehoy** - a youth, particularly an ungainly one Here are some mentioned in _Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words_ that I can’t find in [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): **Dwergmal** - an echo; literally, dwarf-language, the echoing rocks being the supposed home of the dwarfs (Norse Saga). **Thrion** - the figleaf garb of Adam and Eve **Cleocentric** - adj. pertaining to the belief that fame is everything **Spintry** - A male whore ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/64 "2010-02-04T22:42:07Z")
I just learned the word [Panjandrum](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panjandrum) today. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/65 "2010-02-05T00:11:37Z")
My favorite is probably **egregious** (conspicuously bad). > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I’m quite partial to using [spathic](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spathic) whenever possible. “Danielle, you’re looking positively spathic today!” I came in to post that one. Are you a Spider Robinson fan? I think it was one of his stories I got that from. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/66 "2010-02-05T07:06:45Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > It wasn’t my favorite until recently, but after I told my golf buddies that “it’s 190 yards to where the cart path **bifurcates** ” and they started giving me a hard time about that word, well… Yes, and one of my favorite fonts is aptly-named [Bifur](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.identifont.com/samples/ihof/BifurB.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.identifont.com/show%3FED8&h=288&w=432&sz=14&tbnid=eyW_RQ_2Dd3HSM:&tbnh=84&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbifur%2Bfont&hl=en&usg=__-iCMW6ivBhcH4Bk4XU5sIuuy-6g=&ei=oMJrS539D5O4M4K72dgE&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=8&ct=image&ved=0CEsQ9QEwBw) . . . \*\*\*divided \*\*\*between black areas and striped (or sometimes colored) areas. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/67 "2010-02-05T08:18:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > **Virago** - Female warrior, heroine. Caution, however, because apparently among the few people who know the term it has come to mean something like ‘harpy’. When I learned the word from a word vocabulary book in about 1970 (Increase Your Word Power Now! or something like that), it was as a synonym for fishwife and termagant. (I laughed when a car was named Virago.) The warrior definition is considered to be archaic even in my 1975 dictionary. Maybe you’re a LOT older than I expected! ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/68 "2010-02-05T09:00:06Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:65, topic:527403”] My favorite is probably **egregious** (conspicuously bad). I came in to post that one. Are you a Spider Robinson fan? I think it was one of his stories I got that from. [/QUOTE] I am(and I do think I’ve seen it referenced in one of his books somewhere), but I originally got it from my dad, who’s a geologist. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/69 "2010-02-05T12:21:10Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > When I learned the word from a word vocabulary book in about 1970 (Increase Your Word Power Now! or something like that), it was as a synonym for fishwife and termagant. (I laughed when a car was named Virago.) The warrior definition is considered to be archaic even in my 1975 dictionary. Maybe you’re a LOT older than I expected! [Wikipedia has something to say on this.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virago) I don’t remember where I first encountered the term in English (though in Latin I’m pretty sure I saw it used to describe Camilla) but I only found out about its negative connotations when I looked it up recently. But it’s a nice, visceral word that deserves to be reclaimed. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/70 "2010-02-05T13:55:00Z")
**supercalifragilisticexpialidocious** (Somebody had to mention this one). It’s the title of a song in Mary Poppins. Means great, fantastic. (11’300 hits in Google). And in the 60s there was a huge advertising panel in New York for Kellog’s cornflakes. (not really part of my vocabulary though) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/71 "2010-02-05T14:06:33Z")
Straight Dope column on _supercalifragilisticexpialidocious_: > **[Is “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” a real word referring to Irish hookers?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343166/is-supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-a-real-word-referring-to-irish-hookers)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD I was surprised to learn that the word predated Mary Poppins. The Wikipedia article is less help, citing Cecil himself: > **[Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious)** > > "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (/ˌsuːpərˌkælɪˌfrædʒɪˌlɪstɪkˌɛkspiˌælɪˈdoʊʃəs/ i SOO-per-KAL-ih-FRA-jih-LIS-tik-EKS-pee-AL-i-DOH-shess) is a song and single from the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. It was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It also appears in the 2004 stage show version. > Because Mary Poppins was a period piece set in 1910, songs that sounded similar to songs of the period were wanted. The movie version finished at #36 in The s... ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/72 "2010-02-05T20:12:28Z")
Not all that esoteric, thanks to Poe: **Tintinnabulation** : a ringing or tinkling sound. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/73 "2010-02-05T20:30:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Straight Dope column on _supercalifragilisticexpialidocious_: > > [Is “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” a real word referring to Irish hookers? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2025/is-supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-a-real-word-referring-to-irish-hookers) > I was surprised to learn that the word predated Mary Poppins. > The Wikipedia article is less help, citing Cecil himself: > > [Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious) Cecil and Wikipedia are wrong. The word was invented by Staff Report guest poster [NYNJVATXPA](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4280911&postcount=15). ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/74 "2010-02-05T21:57:48Z")
If [Dakka](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoreDakka) isn’t generally recognized yet, it ought to be. As the Tropes page defines it: “\<…\>slang for rapid fire capability, based on the onomatopoeia for automatic guns shooting. \<…\>”. And by extension, the concept of overwhelming, obliterating firepower. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/75 "2010-02-06T03:22:22Z")
_coup de grace_ but I hear too many people pronounce it as if it meant “blow or strike of fat” vs. “strike of thanks/mercy”. The French word, _gras_, meaning fat, is pronounced grah. The French word, _grace_, is pronounced grahss. (Sorry, I can’t find my list of accent codes.) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/76 "2010-02-06T03:36:42Z")
**calipygian** - adj. - nice-assed. I’m a typical male pig. ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/77 "2010-02-06T03:51:15Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Concatenation. Used for a series or chain of events, each of which is dependent upon or connected to the last. Dang. That was my word. I work with UID (Unique Identification) codes for government systems. It’s a 2D barcode that stores a whole lot of information. We have to have our manufacturer’s code, the part number, and the serial number in this code. The whole string of numbers is concatenated before it’s decoded by the reading software. I use it in meetings whenever possible. My other one is **pandiculation** : a stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities (as when fatigued and drowsy or after waking from sleep). ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/78 "2010-02-06T07:44:49Z")
Pharology (the study of lighthouses and beacons) Vexilology (the study of flags and banners) and (this one is not a word, but should be)Ferroequinology (the study of locomotives) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/79 "2010-02-06T07:59:17Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > Pharology (the study of lighthouses and beacons) > Vexilology (the study of flags and banners) > and (this one is not a word, but should be)Ferroequinology (the study of locomotives) Even better if you use Greek roots throughout and render it _siderohippology_. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403/80 "2010-02-06T20:00:04Z")
Many of the words listed, thus far, are not really [esoteric](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/esoteric). > [@](#): > > Intended for or understood by only a particular group. It doesn’t mean unusual words that few people are aware of. My favorite esoteric phrase is [homonymous hemianopsia](http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561536956/homonymous_hemianopia.html), which is also called a visual field cut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-esoteric-word-in-your-vocabulary/527403.md?page=5)