A nice useful word; it's a shame it's obsolete. Think about it for a second, you could use this in all kinds of situations. Fun bonus fact: it's a combination of two words, one of which is "all". So there's another obsolete word coming up when I eventually get to the next letter of the … Continue reading All Together Now
Tag: obsolete
Measured stone
Who knew it was also a unit of measure? The only citation for sense 3 of the noun form is... another dictionary. Also, I own a (much more recent) copy of this dictionary. Old dictionaries tend to be veritable fonts of old and interesting, though not always useful, information. One of my favorite things.alabaster, n. … Continue reading Measured stone
Master of the Tupperware
My wife would probably want to employ one of these people each time there's a potluck at church. Not a household office about which one hears often, but undoubtedly useful.aker, n.hist. Obsolete. rareA servant responsible for receiving and looking after vessels from the kitchen.
Cool It
Each definition is rare or obsolete, but that just means you can save your breath to cool your porridge.Okay, look, all the jokes can't be good. You have to expect that once in a while.akele, v.1. trans.a. To make cold, to cool. Also fig.: †to make less ardent, vigorous, or vital, to assuage, quench (obs.). … Continue reading Cool It
Piqued my interest
This was one of the first unusual words I learned. I read about this somewhere when I was a child and it opened my eyes to the fact that English has a word for just about everything. I had no idea prior to this that there was a particular name for the ends of one's … Continue reading Piqued my interest
Can you do it?
I'm not sure if I could work this word into a sentence. Try and get it into conversation this week without using a dodge like "I learned a new word...".aggresteyneObs.A disease of the tail feathers of hawks.
Under attack
A verb from which a more well-known noun is derived.aggress, v.1. intr. To approach, march forward. Obs. Hence aggressed ppl. a.; also as n.2. intr. To make an attack; to set upon; ‘to commit the first act of violence; to begin the quarrel.’ J. Const. on. Also transf. (esp. in Psychol. contexts) and const. against. … Continue reading Under attack
Don’t be irritated
I never thought this word through either, though it makes perfect sense that it would have to do with weight, both literal and figurative.aggravate, v.To make heavy or heavier; hence, to put weight on; to add weight to; to add apparent weight or importance, to exaggerate.I. To put weight upon.1. trans. To make heavy; to … Continue reading Don’t be irritated
Strictly ornamental
If it's never used, is it really a word?And I've discovered that I can at least get the names of the Greek letters even if not the symbols themselves. For all the Greek scholars among my readership. They're such a large constituency.agalmaObs.[Gr. {alenisacu}{gamma}{alpha}{lambda}{mu}{alpha} (pl. {alenis}{gamma}{gaacu}{lambda}{mu}{alpha}{tau}{alpha}) an honour, ornament, statue, picture. Found in Dicts., but never … Continue reading Strictly ornamental
Outside my experience.
I imagine this word passed out of use in part because of the shift from a rural predominance to an urban and suburban one in this and other English-speaking countries. Not something I've ever come into contact with, or am likely to, I'll bet.afterings, n. pl.Obs. or dial.1. The last strainings of milk from a … Continue reading Outside my experience.
Neh 