# Words You've Read But Never Heard Said **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2024, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769 "2024-01-08T12:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/81 "2024-01-09T22:18:01Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’m not sure if you’re joking and aware of this, but that’s the British pronunciation. It also an American dialectal pronunciation. I grew up, in Chicago, saying both “PEE-kahn” and “pih-KAHN” so interchangeably that I forget which is the “normal” pronunciation in America. Plus I sometimes would say “PEE-can” and there’s also “pee-KAHN,” according to that map. > **[How Do You Say Pecan? Mapping Food Dialect Trends Across the U.S.](https://farmflavor.com/lifestyle/how-do-you-say-pecan-mapping-food-dialect-trends-across-the-u-s/)** > > Pronunciation trends across the country. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/82 "2024-01-09T23:41:11Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I heard the word “duodenum” on Jeopardy once. So I saw it spelled and pronounced. Imagine my surprise when they said “doo-oh-DEE-num” instead of “doo-AH-den-um.” Here we venture into the unsavory territory of Doctor-Speak, where any and all mispronunciations are accorded equal validity. How many SONT-i-meters is their doo-oh-DEE-num from their um-bi-LYE-cus ? Don’t get me started ! ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/83 "2024-01-09T23:44:47Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And I was one who mispronounced Hermione … reading it aloud to my kid I was greatly embarrassed by this one as well. I can’t even guess how many years I read this name and internally pronounced it as HER-mee-own, including while reading the Harry Potter books. At some point I made reference to this character in conversation, and decades later my brother still won’t let me forget it. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/84 "2024-01-09T23:52:07Z")
Funnily enough, I was just now doing a ‘Nine Letter Word’ puzzle, and the nine-letter word was BESEECHED. And I’m damned sure it’s a word I’ve never heard spoken at any time. Another is ennui. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/85 "2024-01-09T23:53:11Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I was watching either a F1 clip or an Olympics one or something, and heard an announcer say “Pan-nosh”, which amazed me to no end since I’ve always said it in my mind as “Pan-nock”-I mean, we don’t say “osh” for the word “ache”, do we? No, it’s a K sound, obviously. Are you sure it was Pan-nosh? IME it would normally be P’n-arsh , to rhyme with harsh. I went to a restaurant called Automaton (Aww-TOM-a-tonn) some years ago and asked them why they called it that; I don’t think they actually answered my question, they were so pleased I said the word properly - not “auto-_may_-tonn”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/86 "2024-01-09T23:56:01Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Another is ennui. on-WEE. You must not hang out with enough existentialists or morose characters. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/87 "2024-01-09T23:59:09Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Are you sure it was Pan-nosh? IME it would normally be P’n-arsh , to rhyme with harsh. Do you have non-rhotic accent? Because “panache” definitely does not rhyme with “harsh” in most US accents, as there’s no “r” in it. Explaining it to an American as “p’n-arsh” will yield unexpected results. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/88 "2024-01-10T00:48:33Z")
Maybe “haash” would be a better rhyme - “pan-aash”. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/89 "2024-01-10T00:54:58Z")
Well, dang, I’ve been using most of these words for 2 decades, and some of them since the early 1980’s, and I realize I have no idea how to pronounce any of them, except, possibly “sysop” which was explained in an early Commodore magazine. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/90 "2024-01-10T03:12:33Z")
[Geoduck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck) is one that surprised me when I finally heard it said out loud. Also: Schuylkill. Depending on where you are from, it can vary. SKOOL-kill or SKOOkill. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/91 "2024-01-10T12:39:01Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > why is it often pronounced sighs-op instead of sis-op I have never, ever heard it pronounced that way in my decades of IT work. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/92 "2024-01-10T12:43:45Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Also: Schuylkill. Depending on where you are from, it can vary. SKOOL-kill or SKOOkill. When I lived in Philadelphia, the expressway was pronounced SURE-kill. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/93 "2024-01-10T12:44:30Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > we don’t say “osh” for the word “ache”, do we? Do you also call top lip facial hair a mous-tock? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/94 "2024-01-10T13:03:33Z")
My cousin’s in local county government IT and he pronounces it “sigh-sop”. When I was BBSing in the late 80s/early 90s, that seems to be how a lot of people pronounced it, before settling on “siss-op.” I’m also one of those people who say “jif” for GIF, though. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/95 "2024-01-10T13:06:23Z")
I’ve heard many of these words (duodenum, detritus) pronounced differently by people who are “experts” on the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/96 "2024-01-10T13:25:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > > > we don’t say “osh” for the word “ache”, do we? > > Do you also call top lip facial hair a mous-tock? I spent years thinking the clothing brand Jordache was pronounced “jor-dake,” when it’s actually “jor-dash.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/97 "2024-01-10T13:41:28Z")
How about “plethora”, as in “A plethora of people have completely missing the point of the OP”. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/98 "2024-01-10T13:51:31Z")
Several words from Lovecraft come to mind, such as “Oleaginous,” “Eldritch,” and “Cthonian.” [Want more?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Lovecraft/comments/mixo4/words_every_lovecraft_fan_needs_to_know_to/) Antediluvian, Atavistic, Bachtrachian, Cacodaemoniacal, Effulgence, Gibbous, Gloaming, Ichthyic, Lucubration, Obdurate, Piliferous, Proboscidian, Rugose… ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/99 "2024-01-10T14:46:05Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Maybe this is cheating since it’s a proper name rather than an ordinary word, but the real trial by fire is the painter [Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Auguste-Dominique_Ingres). > > I had an art professor who assured us that no one who is not a native French speaker can pronounce his surname. Did he perhaps speak more in Seurat than in Ingres? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769/100 "2024-01-10T14:55:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@commasense](#): > > > > One plural form of octopus is octopodes, which I assumed was pronounced as it appears: OCK-to-podes, emphasis on the first syllable. > > Since marine biologists pronounce it as “octopuses” , you were both wrong. 🤪 If you’re a stickler, in the original Greek it’s octo(=eight)+podes(=feet), so I’ve always understood it as octo-PO-des. But “octopuses” follows regular English so that’s OK, but never “octopi” which is neither Greek nor Latin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-read-but-never-heard-said/995769.md?page=6)