porging

From PORGING - JewishEncyclopedia.com: The cutting away of forbidden fat and veins from kasher meat. 



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apophatic

From Apophatic theology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Apophatic theology (from Ancient Greek: ἀπόφασις, from ἀπόφημι – apophēmi, "to deny")—also known as negative theology, via negativa or via negationis^[1] (Latin for "negative way" or "by way of denial")—is a theology that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God.^[2] It stands in contrast with cataphatic theology. 

A startling example can be found with theologian John Scotus Erigena (9th century): "We do not know what God is. God Himself does not know what He is because He is not anything. Literally God is not, because He transcends being."

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atavistic

From atavistic - definition of atavistic by The Free Dictionary:

at·a·vism  (t-vzm)n.1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes.
2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback.
3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

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Eleemosenary

From Eleemosenary:

of, relating to, or dependent on charity; charitable.

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oleaginous

From oleaginous - Google Search:

o·le·ag·i·nousˌōlēˈajənəs/
adjective1.
rich in, covered with, or producing oil; oily or greasy.
2.
exaggeratedly and distastefully complimentary; obsequious.
"candidates made the usual oleaginous speeches in the debate"

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Clepsydra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedi

Clepsydra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Clepsydra (literally "water thief"), the Greek word for water clock. Also, in ancient Greece, a device (water thief) for drawing liquids from vats too large to pour, which utilized the principles of air pressure to transport the liquid from one container to another.

Example sentence: After years of his daughter wetting the bed, Cliff began to have serious doubts about naming her Clepsydra.



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Zeigarnik Effect

From Here Is What's Wrong With Your To-Do List | Alltopstartups.com:

Zeigarnik Effect: the psychological tendency to remember an uncompleted task rather than a completed one. - Merriam-Webster

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hacktivism/slacktivism/twactivism

The portmaneaus are flying fast and hard in this sentence from Daily chart: Twactivism | The Economist:

Just as online activism (known as “hacktivism") is considered slacktivism (armchair activism) because it is rarely sustained, so too the concerned tweets might be called twactivism. 

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hiraeth

From mrstheky: I never knew.:

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Zut Alors

From What does "Zut Alors!"?:

It’s French for Damn it ! It is important to notice though that it is pointless to try to literally translate interjections as they are popper to each language and do not necessarily exist in other languages, you have to live amongst the people who speak the language in order to acquire the true meaning of those! Hope that helped !

Also relevant:

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sistren

What is the female equivalent of brethren? - Oxford Dictionaries (US):



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Strawmanistan

A great portmaneau: Obama Invades Strawmanistan While Rubio and Others Offer Ideas « Commentary Magazine.



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acrimonious

From acrimonious - definition of acrimonious by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.:

ac·ri·mo·ni·ous  (ăk′rə-mō′nē-əs)adj.Bitter and sharp in language or tone; rancorous: an acrimonious debate between the two candidates.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwan: "The group disbanded acrimoniously after their 2003 world tour."



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Shadow congressperson

More of a term than a word; shadow congressperson are:

"The offices of shadow U.S. Representative and shadow U.S. Senator are elective offices in the District of Columbia. While the holders of these offices are not seated in either house of the United States Congress, they promote the District's efforts to gain full voting rights. Historically, shadow congressmen were elected by organized incorporated territories prior to their admission to the Union.[1] The name was based on the traditional practice of the Official Opposition appointing shadow cabinets in parliamentary systems.[citation needed]"

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Well-heeled

Well-heeled: having plenty of money. From http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0304/dictionary_men030104.asp:

There is some dispute over the origin of "well-heeled,'' which means "wealthy.'' We know it originated in the United States in the late 1800s, but its derivation is unclear. One popular explanation is that wealthy people have plenty of money to see that their shoes are always stylish and in good repair, not worn down at the heels; hence they are literally "well-heeled.'' 

The other explanation for "well-heeled'' is somewhat more complicated. In the late 1800s, "well-heeled'' was also used to mean "adequately armed with weapons.'' As the story goes, this use of the term derived from the practice of equipping fighting gamecocks with steel spurs. Eventually, according to this theory, the sense of "well-heeled'' meaning "wealthy'' evolved out of this "well-armed'' sense. 

The theory seems plausible, since wealth can indeed be a powerful weapon, and it's true that the "armed'' sense of "well-heeled'' is attested some ten years earlier than the "wealthy'' sense. But it's also possible that the two meanings developed fairly simultaneously, independent of each other. Without more clear-cut evidence, we can't say for sure whether the first person to use "well-heeled'' to mean "wealthy'' was drawing the imagery from shoes, or from guns!

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Urban Dictionary: tl;dr

From Urban Dictionary: tl;dr:

Literally, "Too long; didn't read" 
Said whenever a nerd makes a post that is too long to bother reading.
"omg you postwench. i can only say one thing in response - tl;dr"
"tl;dr...why dont you give up on your unabridged edition of War and Peace or at least stop posting it here?"

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terroir

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir:

Terroir (French pronunciation: ​[tɛʁwaʁ] from terre, "land") is the set of special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place, interacting with plant genetics, express in agricultural products such as wine, coffee, chocolate, hops, tomatoes, heritage wheat, and tea.

From Backyard Composting Isn't Scary—It's Actually Quite Easy | TakePart:

"I’ve wondered how bat guano is harvested, if vegans are OK with eating vegetables that sucked up nutrients from applications of blood and bone meal, and considered the scatological affect that fertilizing my tomatoes with compost comprised of waste from the Los Angeles Zoo would have on the terroir of my backyard.   "

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Auscultation

Auscultation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Auscultation (based on the Latin verb auscultare "to listen") is the term for listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory system and respiratory system (heart sounds and breath sounds), as well as the gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds)."



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peonage

From peonage system - Google Search:

Peonage, also called debt slavery or debt servitude, is a system where an employer compels a worker to pay off a debt with work.

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comme il faut

From comme il faut - Wiktionary:

Adjective[edit]comme il faut (comparative more comme il faut, superlative most comme il faut)

1. Proper; in keeping with etiquette or social standards

"Talking during performances is perfectly comme il faut in Wharton – why else go to a show if not to talk to one's friends?"



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paraenetic

From Protrepsis and paraenesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

In rhetoric, protrepsis (Greek: πρότρεψις) and paraenesis (παραίνεσις) are two closely related styles of exhortation that are employed by moral philosophers. 

New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham writing on the book of Judge:

It consists of a midrash on a series of scriptural references and texts (vv 5-19) and a paraenetic section (vv20-23).

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veridical

veridical - (adj) truthful



From Modern Appearances of Jesus « Christianity in Antiquity (CIA): The Bart Ehrman Blog:

Still, at the end of the day, he thinks that something “transcendent” has led to some of the modern visions of Jesus he recounts. In other words, they – or some of them – are veridical.)

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epigone

From epigone - definition of epigone by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.:

ep·i·gone  (ĕp′ĭ-gōn′)n.A second-rate imitator or follower, especially of an artist or a philosopher.

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Sommelier

From Sommelier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A sommelier (/ˈsɒməljeɪ/ or /sʌməlˈjeɪ/; French pronunciation: ​[sɔməlje]), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role is much more specialized and informed than that of a wine waiter: In fine dining today the role is strategically on a par with that of the executive chef or chef de cuisine.^[1]

Example sentence: I learned everything I know about sommeliers from tonight' episode of Parks and Rec.

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Zugzwang

From Zugzwang - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", pronounced [ˈtsuːktsvaŋ]) is a situation found in chess and other games, where one player is put at a disadvantage because he must make a move when he would prefer to pass and not move. The fact that the player is compelled to move means that his position will become significantly weaker. A player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any possible move will worsen his position.^[1]

From Mr. Nobody:

Nemo age 9: In chess, it's called Zugzwang... when the only viable move...
Nemo Nobody aged 118: ...is not to move.

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fait accompli

fait accompli - Wiktionary: French for "a done deal" (pronounced "fay complee").



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florilegium

florilegium - noun, plural flo·ri·le·gi·a  [flawr-uh-lee-jee-uh, flohr-] 

a collection of literary pieces; anthology.

From God and Freedom | First Things:

"Brague’s talk was a running commentary on a florilegium of biblical texts; I can’t fit the entire roster into a single column, but the following selections ... may be aids to Lenten reflection."

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suppurate

From suppurate - Google Search: "undergo the formation of pus; fester."



From Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning: "For days we were unable to wash, even partially, because of frozen water-pipes, and yet the sores and abrasions on hands which were dirty from work in the soil did not suppurate (that is, unless there was frostbite)." (30)



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journalizing

journalizing - definition of journalizing by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.: exactly what it sounds like.



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Chiaroscuro

From Chiaroscuro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑːrəˈskjʊəroʊ/; Italian: [kjarosˈkuːro]; Italian for light-dark) in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. Chiaroscuro also is a technical term used by artists and art historians for using contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects, such as the human body.^[1] Similar effects in the lighting of cinema and photography also are often called chiaroscuro.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_in_a_Lifetime_(Talking_Heads_song):

Talking Heads' performance of Once in a Lifetime in their concert film Stop Making Sense is notable for its almost 4-minute long, unbroken chiaroscuro shot of Byrne performing the song.

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Zeitgeber

From Zeitgeber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A zeitgeber is any external or environmental cue that entrains, or synchronizes, an organism's biological rhythms to the earth's 24-hour light/dark cycle and 12 month cycle.

Example sentence: "Light is the dominant zeitgeber but other external cues are important, such as social routines."



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klieg light

From A.Word.A.Day -- klieg light:

klieg light (kleeg lyt) noun
1. A carbon-arc lamp for producing light, used in moviemaking.
2. The center of public attention. 

"And on this night, Billups and Hamilton were twin klieg lights at a shopping mall opening, and Kobe was a 25-watt bulb." Mitch Albom; Pistons Proving Team Might be Better Than Hall of Famers; Kansas City Star (Missouri); Jun 11, 2004.

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Ceylon

From British Ceylon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "British Ceylon (Sinhala: Britanya Lankava), known contemporaneously as Ceylon, was a British Crown colony between 1815 and 1948. "



See also: the song "Ceylon" from the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood.



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Portmanteau

portmanteau - a word that, like “Thanksgivukkah,” is created by running together truncated parts of two separate words.

From Why Thanksgivukkah Is a Portmanteau — and What That Means – Forward.com:

Whatever languages are spoken 77,000 years from now (unless we’re all communicating by brain chip long before that), portmanteau words will probably still exist in them. That’s a word that, like “Thanksgivukkah,” is created by running together truncated parts of two separate words. Sometimes these fusion words are mere jokes or curiosities, like “Thanksgivukkah” or “tiglon,” which is a cross between a tiger and a lion. (Personally, I’ve never encountered a tiglon, but if you ever do, that’s what you should call it.) In quite a few cases, however, they have entered our everyday vocabulary. Consider “smog,” “brunch,” “cheeseburger,” “newscast,” “motel” and other words that we no longer even think of as artificial creations. Others, like “guesstimate” or “stagflation,” though their artificiality is still felt, are now used regularly, too. 

A portmanteau was, in its last, 19th-century incarnation, a leather suitcase that opened into two separate compartments. (The term is, fittingly, a portmanteau word itself, coming from French porter, to carry, and manteau, a coat; the original portmanteau was a French adjutant who carried an officer’s cloak or bag.) It was first compared with two fused words by Lewis Carroll in “Through the Looking Glass”(1872), his sequel to “Alice in Wonderland.” There, Alice is engrossed in conversation with Humpty Dumpty, whom she asks to explain Carroll’s immortal nonsense poem “The Jabberwocky.” After she recites its first lines of “’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; / All mimsy were the borogoves, / And the mome raths outgrabe,” the narrative proceeds: 

“That’s enough to begin with,” Humpty Dumpty interrupted. “There are plenty of hard words there. ‘Brillig’ means five o’clock in the afternoon — the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.” 

“That’ll do very well,” said Alice. “And slithy?” 

“Well, slithy means lithe and slimy…. You see, it’s like a portmanteau — two meanings packed into one word.”

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Desiderata

Yes, it is what it sounds like:



Desiderata | Define Desiderata at Dictionary.com:

de·sid·er·a·ta [dih-sid-uh-rey-tuh, -rah-, -zid-] 

plural noun, things wanted or needed; the plural of desideratum: 

“Happily-ever-after” and “eternal love” appear to be the desiderata of the current generation; to whom “fat chance” say those of us who are older, wiser, and more curmudgeonly. 

Synonyms: essentials, necessities, requisites, sine qua nons. 

de·sid·er·a·tum [dih-sid-uh-rey-tuhm, -rah-, -zid-]

noun, something wanted or needed.

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zoochory, qindars, xylogen

• zoochory - (biology) The dispersal of seeds, spores, or fruit by animals.
• qindars - alternative spelling for qintars; (plural: qindarka or qintars) An Albanian coin equal to one hundredth of a lek.
• xylogen - Nascent wood; wood cells in a forming state.

"He says he will likely return to the world of competitive Scrabble, where winning words can transcend anything a Toastmasters grammarian might present as the Word of the Day. For skeptics, Adams offers a handful of high-octane words that he's encountered in tournament play: lazulis, zoochory, qabalah, qindars, and xylogen." (Toastmasters Magazine, "What's in a Word?" by Patrick Mott)

Defenestration

 Defenestration:

 According to Merriam-Webster

1:  a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

2:  a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office) 

 In a sentence,

Carol was still mourning the defenestration of her poor cat, Whiskers, done in by a disgruntled hobo, when she herself was defenestrated from her position on the city council.

Prima facie

Prima facie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Prima facie (/ˈpraɪmə ˈfeɪʃɨ.iː/, /ˈfeɪʃə/, or /ˈfeɪʃiː/;[1] from Latin: prīmā faciē) is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. "



From http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2014/03/what-does-it-mean-for-something-to-be.html:

If you follow that route, one of the most commonly advanced examples of metaphysical necessity is… the existence of God! Since that is prima facie (I love it when I get to write that!) ludicrous — or it should be at the dawn of the 21st century — we will ignore it and proceed otherwise.

Not sure about the claim, but the vocabulary is good!

 

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Samizdat

Samizdat:

a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader. This grassroots practice to evade officially imposed censorship was fraught with danger as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials.Vladimir Bukovsky summarized it as, "I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and get imprisoned for it."

From The Real Reason Nobody Reads Academics - Bloomberg View:

"Still, it would be better if academics didn’t have to blog, or know a blogger, to get their work in front of interested audiences. That would require a new model for disseminating academic work -- one that gets beyond the samizdat system used for working papers on the one hand, and the rigid journal publication system on the other."

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Voluntourism

I first encountered this portmanteau in a satirical context (The Problem with Little White Girls (And Boys): Why I Stopped Being A Voluntourist)...so I was appalled when Google brought up mostly serious usage of the term. Urban Dictionary retains the satirical edge in its definition:

Voluntourism, an act carried out by "voluntourists", is when hoardes of - generally - the great unwashed backpacker brigade descend on a place to do have a jolly nice holiday - usually at precious little cost to themselves - and do the occasional bit of good work. 

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Suasion

From Suasion - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "the act of influencing or persuading."

"It is, for example, the autonomy of humanity over against God that accounts for one of the most remarkable features of the Hebrew Bible, the possibility that people can argue with God and win. As odd as this may seem in comparison with the New Testament and the Qur'an, for example, it is neither unprecedented in the ancient Near East (where the suasion of one god is usually performed by another) nor without continuation in pos-biblical Judaism. In the Hebrew Bible the most eloquent instance of the justified human challenge to God is to be found in Abraham's response to YHWH's announcement of his imminent overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah."

Jon D. Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil: the Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence, chapter 12, "Argument and Obedience," p. 149

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Hexaemeron

Or Hexameron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The term Hexameron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia) refers either to the genre of theological treatise that describes God's work on the six days of creation or to the six days of creation themselves. Most often these theological works take the form of commentaries on Genesis 1. As a genre, hexameral literature was popular in the early church and medieval periods. The word derives its name from the Greek roots hexa-, meaning "six", and (h)emer(a), meaning "day".

"In this oracle [Isa. 60:19-20] the alternation of night and day, which serves as a refrain throughout Genesis 1, is to be brought to an end, as YHWH will ceaselessly enlighten the world. The light of the first three days of the hexaemeron, which derived from God without celestial mediation, will return."

Jon D. Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil: the Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence, chapter 9, "Conclusion: Chaos Neutralized in Cult," p. 125

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Otiosity

From Otiosity | Define Otiosity at Dictionary.com:

otiosity
o·ti·ose [oh-shee-ohs, oh-tee-]
adjective
1.
being at leisure; idle; indolent.
2.
ineffective or futile.
3.
superfluous or useless.

"If, as we have seen, the motif of divine otiosity after the labors of creation is older and more widespread than the particularly Israelite idea of the Sabbath, then Nils-Erik A. Andreasen is probably correct that Geneiss 2:1-3 is inteded to give a certain interpretation to that motif."

Jon D. Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil: the Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence, chapter 8, "Rest and Re-Creation," p. 110

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Ululate: definition and usage

Ulalate (from dictionary.com):
1. To howl, as a dog or a wolf; to hoot, as an owl
2. To utter howling sounds, wail
3. To lament loudly and shrilly

In a sentence:

"Benjamin, stop that ululating. I have a presentation in the morning."

bloviate - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

bloviate - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com: "To bloviate is to talk, but not just to chat. To bloviate means to go on and on and on and on, usually in a pompous way."



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Lamé (fabric) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lamé (fabric) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Lamé is a type of fabric woven or knit^[1] with thin ribbons of metallic yarns, as opposed to guipé, where the ribbons are wrapped around a fibre yarn. It is usually gold or silver in color; sometimes copperlamé is seen. Lamé comes in different varieties, depending on the composition of the other threads in the fabric. Common examples are tissue lamé, hologram lamé and pearl lamé.

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Dugong: it's like a manatee

Dugong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:



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the British definition of 'creche'

I knew the word creche referred to a nativity model but wasn't familiar with the second (British) definition:

creche - Google Search: "crèche
kreSH/
noun 

1.
a model or tableau representing the scene of Jesus Christ's birth, displayed in homes or public places at Christmas. 

2.
BRIT.
a nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day."

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Eating Poetry by Mark Strand

Eating Poetry by Mark Strand:

Eating Poetry

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.

The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.

Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.

She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.

I am a new man,
I snarl at her and bark,
I romp with joy in the bookish dark. 

Mark Strand

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Architectonic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Architectonic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Architectonic may mean:

• the scientific study of architectural, musical, literary, or artistic structure: the architectonics of Latin prose 
• having a clearly defined structure, especially one that is artistically pleasing: the painting’s architectonic harmony. 
• pertaining to architecture, or suggesting the qualities of architecture 
• expressing architectural ideas through an integrated architectural/structural system. Also called tectonic. 
• in Kantian and Aristotelian philosophy, systematization of all knowledge (see also Kantian architectonics)"

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Of Robert Frost by Gwendolyn Brooks

Of Robert Frost by Gwendolyn Brooks:

Of Robert Frost 

There is a little lightning in his eyes.
Iron at the mouth.
His brows ride neither too far up nor down. 

He is splendid. With a place to stand. 

Some glowing in the common blood.
Some specialness within.

What a brilliant poem.

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