Tag: 1600 – 1699

Word of the Day: BLESILOQUENT

ETYMOLOGY
– from Latin blæsiloquentem,
from blæsus (lisping, stammering) + (loquentem speaking)

EXAMPLE
“…They might gracefully call gentlemen on the other side of the House either blesiloquent or superbiloquent, and they might accuse an opponent of morology with impunity, whereas if they were to say that he was “talking like a fool,” they might be called to order by the Speaker, who would consider them immorigerous (rude), and describe their behaviour as propudious (shameful)…”

From: The Saturday Review
Of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art
No. 1,834, Vol. 70, December 20, 1890
The New World of Words

Word of the Day: CONCORDIOUS

ETYMOLOGY
– from Old French concordieux, -euse,
from medieval Latin concordiōsus ,
from concordia,  
from concors, concord (of one mind) + -ous

EXAMPLE
“…the King found himself at more Leisure and Freedom, in the Absence of the Lord Marquess, to study the calling of a Comfortable and Concordious Parliament, wherein the Subject might reap Justice, and the Crown Honour…”

From: Scrinia Reserata: 
A Memorial Offer’d to the Great Deservings of John Williams.
By John Hacket, a1670
The Life of Arch-Bishop Williams

Word of the Day: ASSOPIATE

ETYMOLOGY
– irregular from French assopir, modern assoupir, or Italian assopire, 
from Latin as- = ad- to + sopīre (to lull asleep)

EXAMPLE
“…that it wes not intended as ane justificatione of the Band, for they did imagine that all of that kynd was already assopiat, bot that it was his Lordships owne privat thoughts, quhilk wes not to come without the bounds of his owne charter-kist…”

From: Memorials of Montrose and His Times
Edited by Mark Napier, 1848
XXIV. Montrose’s Declaration Before The Committee of Estates, August 1641

Word of the Day: INTERGERN

ETYMOLOGY
from inter- + gern variant of grin (vb. to show the teeth in rage, pain, disappointment, etc.; to snarl as a dog; to complain persistently)

EXAMPLE
“…The eager Dogs are cheer’d with claps and cryes,
The angry Beast to his best chamber flies,
And (angled there) sits grimly inter-gerning;
And all the Earth rings with the Terryers yearning…”

From: Du Bartas his deuine weekes and workes translated:
and dedicated to the Kings most excellent Maiestie
Translated by Iosuah Syluester (Joshua Sylvester)
Guillaume de Saluste Du Bartas, 1st edition 1605

Word of the Day: PAUCILOQUENT

ETYMOLOGY
– from Latin pauci- (comb. form. of Latin paucus few, little)
+ -loquent (speaking)

EXAMPLE
“…There was a sharp lawyer, one P-,
Whose thoughts never got through his still lips;
And all he would say was “ah!” “h’m!” “oh!” and “ay
This pauciloquent person named P- …”

From: Ye Book of Copperheads
Checker-Boarders and Keystoners
Charles Godfrey Leland, 1863

Word of the Day: DAPOCAGINOUS

ETYMOLOGY
– from Italian dappocaggine (lack of intelligence or ability);
from dappoco (of a person: lacking intelligence or ability);
from da (of ) + poco (adv. a little, slightly) + -ous

EXAMPLE
“…Were any one of the wretched broadcasting financial experts to declare not that the housing market is ‘being squeezed’ but that his dapocaginous (mean-spirited; heartless) rigadoon (lively baroque period dance) of fiscal ineptitude that has elumbated (made weak in the loins) every homeowner to an abapical (at the lowest point) financial state is made no better by the rodomontade (bluster) of politicians yarling (howling), why then I might again pay attention…”

From: The Chain of Curiosity
Sandi Toksvig, 2013

Word of the Day: JINGLE-BRAINS

ETYMOLOGY
– from jingle + brains

EXAMPLE
“…We left these Jingle Brains to their Crotchets , and proceeded to the West end of the Cathedral , where we past by abundance of Apples, Nuts, and GingerBread, till we came to a melancholly Multitude , drawn into a Circle , giving very serious Attention to a blind Ballad-singer who was mournfully setting forth the wonderful Usefulness…”

From: The London-spy Compleat, in Eighteen Parts,
Edward Ward, 1718

Word of the Day: ROTUNDANT

ETYMOLOGY
from rotund (adj.) + -ant, after quadrant

EXAMPLE
“…He is a good anatomist to scrue into the very center of a loaf, and to pry into the joynt of separation. A good surveyour only, he measures not by the chaine nor the quadrant, no, by the retundant* rather, i.e. the jugg…”

From: Confused Characters of Conceited Coxcombs, 
Or, A Dish of Traitorous Tyrants
K.W., 1661

Note: – * ‘retundant’ as shown in the above example is correct
– The Oxford English Dictionary only shows ‘rotundant’ as a noun.
However, there are examples of it being used as an adjective, as in this example from 1846:
“…“Oh!” exclaimed the rotundant figure of the queen…”