Five More Words

Have you ever found yourself wondering, "Wouldn't it be nice if there were a word for this?" Well, there is a word for almost everything under the sun.

Here are five more neat words I have come across in my wacky web wandering -


spurtle

PRONUNCIATION:
(SPUR-tl)

MEANING: noun: A wooden stick for stirring porridge.


ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin spatula, or from sprit (a pole to extend a sail on a ship).


NOTE: There is a word for everything. And, apparently, there is a contest for everything. There is one for making porridge, grandly named The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship. It is held annually in Scotland.


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grammatolatry

PRONUNCIATION:
(gram-uh-TOL-uh-tree)

MEANING: noun: The worship of words: regard for the letter while ignoring the spirit of something.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek gramma (letter) + -latry (worship).


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fugacious

PRONUNCIATION:
(fyoo-GAY-shuhs)

MEANING: adjective: Lasting a very short time.

ETYMOLOGY: From Latin fugere (to flee) which also gave us other words such as fugitive, centrifugal, refuge, and subterfuge.


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skeuomorph

PRONUNCIATION:
(SKYOO-uh-morf)

MEANING: noun: A design feature copied from a similar artifact in another material, even when not functionally necessary. For example, the click sound of a shutter in an analog camera that is now reproduced in a digital camera by playing a sound clip.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek skeuos (vessel, implement) + -morph (form).


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epeolatry

PRONUNCIATION:
(ep-i-OL-uh-tree)

MEANING: noun: The worship of words.

ETYMOLOGY: From Greek epos (word) + -latry (worship). The first citation of the word is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., in his 1860 book Professor at the Breakfast Table.