What new word did you learn today?

[Rath Darkblade]

Epistemic knowledge is also used in science - it refers to how scientific knowledge is gathered,

i.e. understanding the process of science

Going off on a tangent here, but the process of science seems to be opaque to way too many laypeople, to the point that they don't even understand basic scientific terminology (like the word "theory").

This means that way too many laypersons dismiss scientific theories because "it's only a theory", which is one of my pet peeves. Commenting on something without knowing what it is just seems ... arrogant. (Grr). Right?

 

[Louanne Learning]

This means that way too many laypersons dismiss scientific theories because "it's only a theory"

yeah, as a teacher I did a whole lesson in the difference between a scientific theory and the common understanding of the word

 

[edamame]

Skibidi - a word that can have different meanings such as "cool" or "bad," or can be used with no real meaning as a joke.

I've heard this word used by children and looked up where it came from. Do not recommend.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I've heard this word used by children and looked up where it came from. Do not recommend.

Of course you knew I was compelled to look it up, right? And you're right, the origin is extremely unsavory.

Copied from google: Phrases like "What the skibidi are you doing?" or "That wasn't very skibidi rizz of you" have entered mainstream usage. If that is correct, then I fear for the literacy of Generation Alpha.

 

[Louanne Learning]

Copied from google: Phrases like "What the skibidi are you doing?" or "That wasn't very skibidi rizz of you" have entered mainstream usage. If that is correct, then I fear for the literacy of Generation Alpha.

yes, because twenty-three-skidoo is no much more sophisticated.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

yes, because twenty-three-skidoo is no much more sophisticated.

It's not, but at least it makes a kind of sense. "Twenty-three" is thought to refer to 23rd Street in New York, a popular area where police would disperse idlers by telling them to "23 skidoo" (the quasi-word "skidoo" possibly coming from the real word "skeddadle").

But "skibidi rizz" ... what is that supposed to mean? I'm confused. Does it refer to something, or is it there simply because it sounds "cool"? (Sorry, "kool"?) *shrug*

 

[Louanne Learning]

But "skibidi rizz" ... what is that supposed to mean? I'm confused. Does it refer to something, or is it there simply because it sounds "cool"? (Sorry, "kool"?) *shrug*

Actually, the kids aren't really using it anymore. I've got young teens in the family who told me months ago that no-one really says it anymore - it has had its life, and gone the way of other "trendy" words that young teens make up.

As an appreciator of language, I think it's cool that kids play around with the language and make up their own "lingo."

 

[Louanne Learning]

what is that supposed to mean? I'm confused.

I think the thing is that older people aren't supposed to understand. It's something that belongs to them.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

No problem. But you're right, Louanne: every generation has its own slang. Some of it lasts the distance, some doesn't. The 30s and 40s had some good slang, for instance:

- A PI was a shamus, peeper, private dick, or house dick (if employed by a hotel or house with rooms for rent).
- A beat policeman was a flatfoot, fuzz, or cop/copper (one word that stuck around).
- A criminal with a gun was a gunsel, yegg, or jailbird (another word that is still with us).
- A policeman or journalist who gave info about criminals was a beefer.
- And a criminal's girlfriend was a gun moll.

Some 1930s slang words for "woman" are still around: Broad, babe, dame, doll, main squeeze. Slang words for "man" included "guy", "fella", "he-man", and (depending on the context and region) "boy". UK slang that dates from this era includes "chap" and/or "bloke" (both still used), and US slang even had "G-man" -- but this specifically referred to a "Government man", i.e. an FBI agent.

One more slang term from this era: "C-note", i.e. a $100 bill ("C" being the Roman numeral for 100; the $100 bill used to have "C" in the corner). Nowadays it's more likely to be a "Benjamin" or a "Franklin", obviously.

Sorry to digress! I own several slang dictionaries, including one on criminal slang from 1500 to today (which is utterly fascinating). Anyway hopefully my post had several "new" words to learn today.

 

[Louanne Learning]

If you want to treat yourself to slang that is even older, check out The Slang Dictionary (published 1873)

Here's a few interesting entries:

Batty-Fang, to beat; BATTY-FANGING, a beating; also BATTER-FANG. Used metaphorically as early as 1630.

Half-a-tusheroon, half-a-crown.

Pinchbeck, inferior, deteriorated. Anything pretending to more than its proper value is said to be PINCHBECK.

Scrimshaw. Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure hours at sea is termed SCRIMSHAW-WORK.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

If you want to treat yourself to slang that is even older, check out The Slang Dictionary (published 1873)

By John Camden Hotten (for anyone looking for it). Ooh! Victorian-era slang. Great!

I also own Crooked Talk by Jonathon Green, a dictionary of criminal slang over the past 500 years. I wrote two books that include criminal characters, and had enormous fun researching the kind of patois they would use. Definitely recommended, loads of fun.

I also own (and recommend) Francis Grose's 1785 Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. After Samuel Johnson printed his groundbreaking dictionary of English, Grose printed this fun (but rather vulgar) dictionary of terms that Johnson thought was too gross to include. It's been reprinted many times, and includes many strange terms - like:

Eternity box: a coffin.

Blind cupid: the backside.

Comfortable importance: a wife.

Dicked in the nob: silly, crazed.

Jolly nob: the head.

Just imagine telling someone "Stop being dicked in the nob, or I'll lump your jolly nob for you!” (Stop being silly or I'll give you a knock on the head!")

On the other hand, a very rude term is "sugar stick" for the, um ... a part that men have. Ahem.

Here's a few interesting entries:

Batty-Fang, to beat; BATTY-FANGING, a beating; also BATTER-FANG. Used metaphorically as early as 1630.

Half-a-tusheroon, half-a-crown.

Pinchbeck, inferior, deteriorated. Anything pretending to more than its proper value is said to be PINCHBECK.

Scrimshaw. Anything made by sailors for themselves in their leisure hours at sea is termed SCRIMSHAW-WORK.

I haven't heard of "batty-fang" or "pinchbeck" -- thank you!

However, I've heard of "tusheroon" or "tosheroon", but the meaning I know is "A ball or clump of sewer muck, mud, gunk, and other debris found in drains and sewers." These balls of debris were often searched by scavengers known as toshers, who looked for valuable items like lost rings and coins.

This meaning of "tosheroon" was used in Terry Pratchett's novel "Dodger", where it refers to the actual lumps of debris found in the city's sewers. But toshers also worked the docks and the Thames at low tide. It was one of the worst jobs imaginable.

I've also heard of "scrimshaw", but then I've read loads about military and nautical history. "Scrimshaw" used to refer specifically to carving or engraving on bone or ivory. Now, a "scrimshaw artist" can even mean a tattooist ... after all, he's still painting on bone. But sailors could create some beautiful pieces of art. Check out these, done on whale teeth: Scrimshaw Art - New Bedford Whaling Museum

 

[Louanne Learning]

Check out these, done on whale teeth: Scrimshaw Art - New Bedford Whaling Museum

Very interesting. thanks for sharing

 

[Louanne Learning]

Otrovert – a new personality type recently recognized by psychiatrists; sort of a middle ground between introverts and extroverts

- individuals who feel like perpetual "outsiders" and struggle to find a sense of belonging within social groups, even if they are empathetic, capable of deep one-on-one connections, and possess good social skills. Unlike introverts (who withdraw) or extroverts (who engage outwardly), otroverts are characterized by a fundamental orientation toward independence, clarity, and original thought, which leads to a constant feeling of being on the margins rather than dissolving into a group

 

[Homer Potvin]

Otrovert – a new personality type recently recognized by psychiatrists; sort of a middle ground between introverts and extroverts

That's me to a TEE.

 

[Louanne Learning]

meretricious - apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

meretricious - apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity.

I can think of several people like that ... particularly in politics, but also some people I used to work with.

And since we've been using some long words, this reminds me:

Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr.
The longest name in the world!!! This man was born in Germany on 4 August 1914 and moved to the US, where he changed his name to Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelesteinhausenbergerdorff, Sr. (I'd love to see the DMV put that on a driver's license).

 

[Louanne Learning]

A strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode—effectively a beginning, middle, and end of an ode.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Here's a fun word I just learned: Theurgy. The art or technique of compelling or persuading a god, or beneficent or supernatural power, to do -- or refrain from doing -- something. (A person who practices theurgy is called a theurge or theurgist).

Theurgy has existed in just about every religion (at least in the western world) for millennia, whether it be praying to a rain god for the harvest or praying to Jesus, Allah etc. I am not so sure about eastern religions like Buddhism and Shinto, though.

Having read all that, I am not sure what the difference is between theurgy and necromancy. But I'm no theologian, so I can't answer that.

By the way, Necromancy literally means "speaking to the dead", usually to gain some knowledge of the future. But when this is done, a necromancer would always speak to the spirit (or ghost) of the departed.

In its original meaning, necromancy never meant or involved "raising the dead", e.g. as zombies. It's uncertain when that meaning changed, but perhaps the vodun religion of West Africa had to do with it, since part of it is the belief that a dead person can be revived after burial. (It's fairly well-known that after the Haitian Revolution of the 1790s, Afro-Haitians brought their beliefs with them to Louisiana).

The ancient Greeks, however, separated necromancy into two branches: nekiya (or nekya), the classical "raising up a spirit" to converse with it about what the future held; and katabasis, or a physical "descent into the underworld" for conversing with a spirit. Obviously, this was very dangerous, and only attempted by mythological heroes (Odysseus, Herakles, etc.)... although many religions have stories of people who travelled through an underworld of some kind.

One last point: talking to the dead is by no means a preoccupation of ancient peoples. In the century between the 1850s and 1950s, roughly, a similar craze swept through at least the UK that culminated in ouija boards and seances. (Some people still believe in seances and pay good money to have one).

Anyway, sorry to digress! New words are fun.

 

[JT Woody]

Here's a fun word I just learned: Theurgy. The art or technique of compelling or persuading a god, or beneficent or supernatural power, to do -- or refrain from doing -- something. (A person who practices theurgy is called a theurge or theurgist).

This is cool!
Oddly enough, this is part of the main plot of a WIP of mine, i just never knew the term for it.
And the WIP has been unnamed for years. I think "The Theurgist" would be a nice working title for it instead of "Possibly a Pirate Story"

 

[Rath Darkblade]

This is cool!
Oddly enough, this is part of the main plot of a WIP of mine, i just never knew the term for it.
And the WIP has been unnamed for years. I think "The Theurgist" would be a nice working title for it instead of "Possibly a Pirate Story"

This is part of the main plot of my current WIP, actually. (But my current WIP already has a good working title, so feel free to use "The Thergist"!)

What does theurgy have to do with a pirate, by the way? Now I'm curious. Does someone speak to the spirit of a dead pirate (or even a pirate god)?