what's your favourite word(s)?

[Somensjev]

hello Playgrounders. As someone who enjoys expanding their vocabulary i thought what better way to learn new words than to ask peoples favourite words

for example, my favourite words are
antidisestablishmentarianism mostly because it can be broken down into simple parts, so it's easy to remember
eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious (which means good) because of the sheer absurdity of it (note. it's a "nonce-word" and you can read more about it here (http://glossographia.wordpress.com/2013/09/01/eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious/))
acersecomic which means a person who's never cut their hair
susurrus which means "whispering or rustling" mostly because the word susurrus sounds susurrus to me
trill which, as a verb, means "produce a quavering or warbling sound."



so i ask you playground, what are your favourite words, and why? :smallbiggrin:

[enderlord99]

My brother's cat has tried to defenestrate himself a few times, in order to get out of the house.

[Teddy]

I really like the word "cloudberry". The word sounds so dreamy, and the berries themselves look like the cosiest, most picturesque sunset clouds.

Also, I have a thing for clouds, and, as anyone who has heard me talk of them can attest to, cloudberries (they taste soo gooood). http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

[Duck999]

Let's see here..
Flauccinaucinihilipilification
Hippopotamonstrosesquipideliaphobia... Irony, so ironic
I think I spelled those right, not sure though.

[asdflove]

I've had a fascination with the word dandiprat as of late. Don't know why, it's just kinda fun to say, and it seems so silly to come across it in text.

[factotum]

Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13)--always liked that one.
Factotum--well, duh, I chose it as a username! It means, approximately, "Jack of all trades".

[Aedilred]

I go through phases of enjoying different words. In the last ~12 years I've become less fond of words that are just gratuitously long, though.

Off the top of my head, I think I use "assiduous" and "apposite" more than might be expected.

I'm also fond of "dilettante", especially as a self-definition.

Plus a lot of forum-unfriendly words. I don't like overuse of swearing in conversation (and swear relatively little myself), but I do appreciate inventive or particularly well-timed or -phrased profanities.

[Cyrion]

Let's see here..
Flauccinaucinihilipilification

I think I spelled those right, not sure though.

Actually, it's floccinaucinihilipilification- the act of estimating something to be worthless.

Other favorites of mine:

burble- used to describe the sound water makes running over stones

phthisical- consumptive or tubercular.

Not going to expand anybody's vocabulary: Indeed
Simply a very useful word with lots of meanings depending on how you emphasize it, especially when other words fail you.

[Domino Quartz]

The word "zygote", because it sounds funny. Also, the word blockhead, because it's such a funny and old-fashioned sounding word.

[SaintRidley]

Callipygian - having a shapely butt
Zaftig - full-figured (one of my friends, the Prophet and I have been meaning to get her sweatpants with zaftig across the butt because it's basically the Yiddish equivalent to juicy - she loves the idea, we just need to be able to put the cash together).

[Xefas]

"Anyway". Probably use that one a bit too much.

"Syzygy" is fun to both write and to say.

[Eldan]

Saftig is a German word too, by the way. As are a lot of Yiddish words. (German just doesn't have the S-Z distinction English has). But I have never heard it used for figures, only for fruit.

I'm not a fan of words people made up just to be long and complicated. But I am a fan of long and complicated words. It's complicated. That said, one word that is used far too rarely:

Splanchnic. Describing or related to the viscera. As in: splanchnic tissue, splanchnic nerve, etc.

Isn't that word just beautiful?

[Gnomvid]

I really like the word "cloudberry". The word sounds so dreamy, and the berries themselves look like the cosiest, most picturesque clouds.

Also, I have a thing for clouds, and, as anyone who has heard me talk of them can attest to, cloudberries (they taste soo gooood). http://i.imgur.com/ZRHtTJs.png

Except they are orange but yes Hjortron do indeed taste fantastically great.

I like the word "Rum" as in "Why is the Rum always gone?" I am also quite partial to the liquid known as Rum so not just the word Rum and indeed the essence of Rum as well, and even the island of Rùm http://www.isleofrum.com/ is nice.


Edit. or if you are looking for something more complex I'm also partial to "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" meaning "Atoning for educability through delicate beauty." or "something to say when you have nothing to say".

[Teddy]

Except they are orange but yes Hjortron do indeed taste fantastically great.

Oh, yes, I forgot to include the word "sunset" in there as I had intended. Fixed that now! http://i.imgur.com/haudcUB.png

[Bit Fiend]

Well... it won't be of much use to you, since it's German, but I'll mention it anyway: My favorite word ever is the simple German word "doch".

To elaborate, "doch" is like a negative "yes". When you have a negative question like "he's not a doctor, is he?" a "yes" or "no" can be confusing, whereas "doch" condenses the eqivalent of "no, you're wrong, he is a doctor" into a single word. It's incredibly useful, but I have yet to find such a word in any other language.

[Domino Quartz]

Well... it won't be of much use to you, since it's German, but I'll mention it anyway: My favorite word ever is the simple German word "doch".

To elaborate, "doch" is like a negative "yes". When you have a negative question like "he's not a doctor, is he?" a "yes" or "no" can be confusing, whereas "doch" condenses the eqivalent of "no, you're wrong, he is a doctor" into a single word. It's incredibly useful, but I have yet to find such a word in any other language.

An interesting (slightly off-topic) fact about English: If what I've read is correct, Early Modern English had two separate words for "yes": "Yea", cognate with German "ja" and used in much the same way, and "yes", a more emphatic form, used in response to negative questions/statements.

[smellie_hippie]

Zeitgeist: A sign of the times

Circuitous: I just like to describe this as my driving tendencies

Psychopharmacological: mental health medications

edit: Oh... and 'fluffy'. Just because it's fun to say

[Hogwarts9876]

Oh... and 'fluffy'. Just because it's fun to say

Kerfuffle for this reason (meaning a commotion or fuss), which I distinctly remember first encountering in the third Harry Potter book and enjoying immensely.
Also archaeopteryx, the oldest known fossil bird. No idea where I heard this but it sounds really cool.

[Gwynfrid]

Well... it won't be of much use to you, since it's German, but I'll mention it anyway: My favorite word ever is the simple German word "doch".

To elaborate, "doch" is like a negative "yes". When you have a negative question like "he's not a doctor, is he?" a "yes" or "no" can be confusing, whereas "doch" condenses the eqivalent of "no, you're wrong, he is a doctor" into a single word. It's incredibly useful, but I have yet to find such a word in any other language.

The exact same meaning is available in French with "si". There's no English equivalent, so we get "yes, no, yes, no, yes, no" sequences, which aren't nearly as nice.

And my all-time favorite English word is "flabbergasted". Somehow, it seems to have the perfect fit of looks (written) and sound (pronounced) to convey a precise meaning and feeling. Also, as a second-language speaker, I'm in awe of many of the submissions above...

[Anarion]

Zeitgeist: A sign of the times


All my hopes of originality are lost forever.

I tend to cycle through words. My most recent couple have been

Sisyphean: also an adequate description of everything I do at work. Every day.

Sanguine: Only in the more obscure meaning of being optimistic about future results.

[Somensjev]

wow, i didnt expect so many responses :smallredface:

another favourite of mine is
squiriferous = having the character or qualities of a squire

[Yora]

Hikoki, the greatest word for airplanes, since it's written flight travel machine, 飛行機.

原子力発電所 (genshiryokuhatsudensho) for Nuclear Power Plant is also amazing, but you'd have to know Japanese or Chinese to really appreciate it.

And I agree that "doch" is one of the most amazing words in any European language. So much information is a single syllable, and we're actually using it in practice all the time. "I reject your negative statement and instead claim the opposite" With a positive statement, the same is done with a simple "no".

[Anarion]

Hikoki, the greatest word for airplanes, since it's written flight travel machine, 飛行機.

原子力発電所 (genshiryokuhatsudensho) for Nuclear Power Plant is also amazing, but you'd have to know Japanese or Chinese to really appreciate it.

And I agree that "doch" is one of the most amazing words in any European language. So much information is a single syllable, and we're actually using it in practice all the time. "I reject your negative statement and instead claim the opposite" With a positive statement, the same is done with a simple "no".

I prefer 原子力爆弾(genshiryokubakudan) nuclear bomb if we're going there. More oomph. Also 秘密 (himitsu) secret is one of my favorite Japanese words. It really rolls off the tongue for me.

[Yora]

The best thing about nuclear power plant is, that it consists of six really basic kanji. We had all of them in the first semester, but it's something you'd rather expect to by really difficult to write.

[Teddy]

Well... it won't be of much use to you, since it's German, but I'll mention it anyway: My favorite word ever is the simple German word "doch".

To elaborate, "doch" is like a negative "yes". When you have a negative question like "he's not a doctor, is he?" a "yes" or "no" can be confusing, whereas "doch" condenses the eqivalent of "no, you're wrong, he is a doctor" into a single word. It's incredibly useful, but I have yet to find such a word in any other language.

We have the same in Swedish, except the word is "jo" (whereas the common positive "yes" is "ja"), and the positive response to a negative question is "nej" ("no").