Build Your Vocabulary!

[INTJoe]

Not sure if I should post this here, or in Work and Education, but anyway, since we are INTJ's, and therefore, perfectionists who are always trying to learn and understand things, I think we should have an ongoing thread for building our collective vocabulary. I've seen several posts around here lately with vocabulary as the topic.

So, without further ado, feel free to post a word, or a series of words along with their definitions. These may be words you already know, or words you are just learning, but the goal is for each of us to expand our horizon. Bonus if you list a word that is commonly mis-used in speech. I'll start with three words. All definitions as per Dictionary.com.

PENULTIMATE (adj.)
next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.
*This word is commonly mis-used to mean "REALLY ULTIMATE!!!"

ONUS (noun)
blame or responsibility: we put the onus on the supervisor regarding the office renovation.

BOORISH (adj.)
of or like a boor; unmannered; crude; insensitive: the woman was boorish; she was not welcome here.

[logan235711]

I think I'm a bit more of of etymologist, wondering what connotation certain words such as onus possess and why and how throughout history. It's great fun to see people use words in completely different contexts than was intended or understood and watch the language evolve before your eyes--not merely slang or popular words, but even basic one's such as time or house etc.

It might be a long-shot, but maybe when you post up words you can paste the etymology too? That would add a great deal of insight : )

[Hypomanic]

My favorite word is 'respectively' which means sequentially.

It's also the favorite word of the person who wrote my Calculus book.

[chocky]

I love words, and reading the dictionary for fun.

I have an old Oxford dictionary, and here the best obscure word from the first page I just opened: coacervation (n.) Heaping together, pile.

Hmm... as in "The INTP had several coacervations of dusty books in the corner of his room." mayhaps?

[HarleyQuinn]

Hmm... Credit the Oxford English Dictionary (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.).

Carniferous - Flesh-bearing.

Efface - To rub out, obliterate (writing, painted or sculptured figures, a mark or stain) from the surface of anything, so as to leave no distinct traces.

Solecism - An impropriety or irregularity in speech or diction; a violation of the rules of grammar or syntax; properly, a faulty concord.

Subterfuge - An artifice or device to which a person resorts in order to escape the force of an argument, to avoid condemnation or censure, or to justify his conduct; an evasion or shift. Chiefly of discourse, argument, debate, but also of action in general.

[Jezebel]

Removed the replies that had nothing to do with the intent of the original post. Please don't post unconstructive/fluff post conversations in the Work & Education subforum. Save it for the Lounge subforum. Thanks.

Edit: Also moved the Free Rice quiz + result posts here (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.). It was worthy of its own thread.