Words you've learned recently

[Vijay]

I didn't manage to find a thread we could use for listing and reviewing vocabulary we've learned in any language, including our native language, so I thought I'd try starting one and posting some new Malayalam words I learned here.

കൽഗം [ˈkəlgəm] 'turkey'
ച്ചുക്ലോത്തി അടിക്കുക [t͡ʃuˈkɭoːt̪i əˈɖikʲʊga] 'to chat idly', a slangy enough expression that I had to learn it from my dad and it's not in our dictionary
പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം [ˈpraːjəɕt͡ʃɪt̪əm] 'atonement'
വിരക്തി [ʋiˈɾəkt̪i] 'detachment, disinterestedness, lack of interest in worldly affairs'
ഞെക്കുവിളക്ക് [ɲɛˈkɯʋɪɭəkɯ] 'torch, flashlight'

[Ser]

I think this thread could use a better title, such as "Words you recently learned". "Vocab lists yaaaay!" sounds like a thread for links to vocab lists and glossaries.

I recently learned how "spew" and "primp" are actually used in English. I kinda had an idea of what they meant but not quite. It's always seemed to me like there's a never ending parade of little monosyllabic Germanic verbs I don't really know. It wasn't too many months ago that I learned "snoop" and "slouch".

[Vijay]

Thread title changed to "Words you've learned recently" but with the implicit understanding that I'm using a very loose definition of "recently"

[Viktor77]

I recently learned how "spew" and "primp" are actually used in English. I kinda had an idea of what they meant but not quite. It's always seemed to me like there's a never ending parade of little monosyllabic Germanic verbs I don't really know. It wasn't too many months ago that I learned "snoop" and "slouch".

If you think those are bad, try French. They have a word for everything, like panneton meaning a tooth on a key....

I keep a notebook of every word I learn in French. Here are some recent ones:
Le sursis-deferment, reprieve, suspended sentence
Le bourreau-execution, hangman
L'aubain-godsend, bargain
La besogne-work, labour, drudgery
Le couac-false note, bum note
Fagoter-to dress badly
Crouler-to droop, to sag, to weigh under
Pétarader-to backfire
Prôner-to advocate, to extol
Sillonner-to travel, to traverse

And it just continues like that. I also write expressions.

[linguoboy]

Within the last hour I learned condemnable, though that may be acceptable only in Indian English.

Reading Stifter yesterday evening, I learned that Gerät could once be used to refer to all indoor furnishings, not just "tools" or "equipment", which is what I think of the word meaning in the contemporary language.

Earlier today I learned the name for "[beverage] coaster" in several languages, including Welsh (mata diod), Catalan (sotagot or rodal), Spanish (posavasos), and Limey (beer mat).

[Vijay]

Within the last hour I learned condemnable, though that may be acceptable only in Indian English.

Nope, Wiktionary has it, too, with two citations from very different time periods.

[linguoboy]

Within the last hour I learned condemnable, though that may be acceptable only in Indian English.

Nope, Wiktionary has it, too, with two citations from very different time periods.

Philistine that I am, I've never heard of Charles McGrath, so I googled him and found this: http://www.mhpbooks.com/charles-mcgrath-hated-your-stupid-book/.

Other words I learned: "baking pan" is casse in some Cajun varieties and plateau in others. (The latter can also mean "tray", as it does in Standard French.)

[clawgrip]

I recently learned 法定調書合計表 hōteichōshogōkeihyō "legal record total table"

I don't really know what it is though, but I have to get one from my company.

[Viktor77]

Earlier today I learned the name for "[beverage] coaster" in several languages, including Welsh (mata diod), Catalan (sotagot or rodal), Spanish (posavasos), and Limey (beer mat).

Un sous-verre in French. It's one of the few French words that's actually logical.

[clawgrip]

It's コースター kōsutā in Japanese. Just borrowed from English.

[Vijay]

We have plenty of these at our house, yet for the longest time, I had no idea what they were even called in English. In Malayalam, I'm not sure we ever bother talking about them. A lot of my mom's friends don't even seem to have coasters, and the usual practice at their parties seems to be to just let people hold their drinks then just keep their glasses on the floor as long as they're out of foot traffic (and take everybody's empty glasses once everyone is presumably done).

[clawgrip]

I've got a can of beer on a coaster right now.

[Viktor77]

Oh yes! Score! I discovered a French word that just makes me so happy! "Farfelu" or harebrained, bizarre, scatterbrained. I'm as happy as the time I discovered "loufoque" or zany. These are just fun words to say. Another fun one is "se faufiler" or to snake in and out, but unfortunately, unlike the first two which will be great fun to incorporate into my vocabulary, I can only make up so many excuses to say the last one.

[Vijay]

I've got a can of beer on a coaster right now.

In my house, we used to get all these CDs as part of our junk mail, but instead of throwing them away, my dad keeps them for us to use as coasters. I have a mug of water that's almost always sitting on one such CD (for Macy's Men's Store. There's another one for America Online (yeah, these are old CDs) on my desk, too).

[Qwynegold]

I recently learned 法定調書合計表 hōteichōshogōkeihyō "legal record total table"

I don't really know what it is though, but I have to get one from my company.

OMG! I know each of those kanjis. But the word itself is just kanji salad.

Some words we are learning in our class right now:
配偶者 haigūsha - one's spouse
夫婦 fūfu - husband and wife; (married) couple
相手 aite - one's companion/partner
結婚相手 kekkon-aite - marriage partner
妾 mekake - mistress; concubine
愛人 aijin - one's lover
相方 aikata - one's partner; Japanese comic duo (in manzai)
連れ合い tsureai - one's companion; one's spouse

Jeezuz! It's hard to learn when there are so many words with similar meanings. In kanji class we had half a dozen of words meaning "medical treatment".

[Viktor77]

One of things I love about French are its expressions. I recently learned "ne pas y aller par quatre chemins" which is about as awesome as the English equivalent "to not beat around the bush." It's not up there with epic expressions like "pleuvoir comme vache qui pisse" but it's still pretty great.

[Vijay]

My dad just taught me:

താരൻ [ˈt̪aːɾɛn] 'dandruff'

[ivazaéun]

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, is known for using obscure words of Latin origin, examples of which...

execration, an act or instance of cursing; a curse dictated by violent feelings of hatred
inculcate, to teach through repetition
inanition, emptiness

[Salmoneus]

... dear lord, people now feel that "inculcate" is an obscure word? [I'll grant you inanition].

No wonder people like Boris are able to manipulate and overawe the electorate so easily.

[din]

... dear lord, people now feel that "inculcate" is an obscure word? [I'll grant you inanition].

You might not want it to be, but it is. English is not my L1, but use the language daily in a variety of contexts, and I'm pretty sure I've never come across 'inculcate'. If I had, I would have looked it up. So it's pretty safe to say that, even if it is still in active use at all, it's pretty obscure.


Then again, I only just bothered to look up what 'furlough' means exactly, so I'm not sure if the above means anything. Turns out it comes from Dutch 'verlof'. Funny that it lost the /-f/

[Viktor77]

Then again, I only just bothered to look up what 'furlough' means exactly, so I'm not sure if the above means anything. Turns out it comes from Dutch 'verlof'. Funny that it lost the /-f/

It must be a very old borrowing to have that spelling.

I've heard but have never used "inculcate."

Apparently in Dutch (or just Flemish?) you can say "ikke" for "ik." Someone commented on De Standaard with "...dat zou ikke zeggen." I quite like "ikke."

[din]

You can, but you can't just go around replacing ik by ikke.

It can be used for extra emphasis and contrast, but it may come across as childish.

A 'normal' context could be:
A: "Je ruimt ook nooit je papieren op!"
B: "Ikke?! Je moet eens naar je eigen buro kijken"

[Viktor77]

You can, but you can't just go around replacing ik by ikke.

It can be used for extra emphasis and contrast, but it may come across as childish.

A 'normal' context could be:
A: "Je ruimt ook nooit je papieren op!"
B: "Ikke?! Je moet eens naar je eigen buro kijken"

Ah, ok. Is it Flemish at all?

[din]

No, it's used in both countries

[Nortaneous]

... dear lord, people now feel that "inculcate" is an obscure word? [I'll grant you inanition].

^