One-syllable words with specific technical or rare meanings

[Kereb]

"lath".

[Thry]

kink - (mathematics) A positive 1-soliton solution to the Sine–Gordon equation
I have no idea what that is

[Nortaneous]

Syringammina fragilissima is a xenophyophore found off the coast of Scotland, near Rockall.[2] It is the largest single-cell organism known, at up to 20 centimetres (8 in) across.[3] It was the first xenophyophore to be described,[4] after being discovered in 1882 by the oceanographer John Murray.

The cell grows into hundreds of branched and interconnecting tubes, which secrete an organic cement to collect particles of sediment and sand, forming a crusty structure called the test.

[Viktor77]

Can we consider Shtetl one syllable?

[Nortaneous]

Can we consider Shtetl one syllable?

not in english, no

edit: zek, zen

also probably some chinese loanwords from buddhism / east asian philosophy, but the only one i can think of off the top of my head is ren

[Pabappa]

Syringammina fragilissima is a xenophyophore found off the coast of Scotland, near Rockall.[2] It is the largest single-cell organism known, at up to 20 centimetres (8 in) across.[3] It was the first xenophyophore to be described,[4] after being discovered in 1882 by the oceanographer John Murray.

The cell grows into hundreds of branched and interconnecting tubes, which secrete an organic cement to collect particles of sediment and sand, forming a crusty structure called the test.

LEK: songbird mating place
TEST is probably c. to testa= head

[Rui]

Can we consider Shtetl one syllable?

not in english, no

edit: zek, zen

also probably some chinese loanwords from buddhism / east asian philosophy, but the only one i can think of off the top of my head is ren

Chi / Qi
edit: Also Dao

[Shm Jay]

Can we consider Shtetl one syllable?

not in english, no

But if we anagram it, we get tlesht, which is one syllable, though maybe the only language that would be a word is is Nahuatl.

I think zek is really more Russian than English, since it’s only used to describe prisoners in Soviet prison camps. Yes, I know it’s used in Scrabble.

[Salmoneus]

Just watched the Creation, which has reminded me of the great word 'purl' - in all five of its meanings! This in turn (no pun intended!) reminds me of 'burl'. And come to think of it 'furl' is a pretty specific word too.

The libretto also uses the word 'pen' in the now obscure meaning of 'feather' or 'wing'. Looking it up, apparently it's also used for a structure inside cuttlefish, and for female swans. Wiktionary doesn't mention it, but it's also sometimes used, particularly in some rural parts of the UK, for a small hill (because a lot of hills are called Pen Suchandsuch).

[Xephyr]

Can we consider Shtetl one syllable?

not in english, no

But if we anagram it, we get tlesht, which is one syllable, though maybe the only language that would be a word is is Nahuatl.

Nahuatl doesn't allow word-final consonant clusters.

[Pole, the]

Not Nahuatl. Polish.

[hwhatting]

Wiktionary doesn't mention it, but it's also sometimes used, particularly in some rural parts of the UK, for a small hill (because a lot of hills are called Pen Suchandsuch).

Which is origially P-Celtic "head", you also find it in the French name Le Pen (it's a bit funny to have a French nationalist with a surnam coming from Breton).

[kuroda]

Urbanan, while (presumably) extinct and poorly documented, seems to have been rich in these:

/kak/ 'penis (one's own)'
/kax/ 'penis (of another)' -- but these are single morphemes; the -k/-x alternation doesn't seem to appear with this semantic distinction elsewhere.

/o/ 'prime minister' and 'DNA' (homophones)
/kom/ 'shot to the side pocket (in billiards)'
/kag/ 'depersonalized one'
/vak/ 'the grammatical category of direct address'
/nak/ 'malfunction in an internal combustion engine'

[Drydic]

Yeah call me skeptical.

[kuroda]

Yeah call me skeptical.

Of Urbanan? Everything I've found about it comes from a festschrift for James McCawley, so I think it's pretty reputable ;|

(Apologies. It's just whenever I come across a thread or discussion like this one, I flash back to this 40-year-old collection...)

[Drydic]

Yeah call me skeptical.

Of Urbanan? Everything I've found about it comes from a festschrift for James McCawley, so I think it's pretty reputable ;|

No, of those specific of meanings being applied to monosyllables. Particularly Prime Minister and DNA; why would a dying possibly aboriginal tribe (the very very little I've been able to find on it [which is vague passing mentions in googled pdfs] suggested that) have such specific terms for things which would not likely feature in their lives?

[pharazon]

Yeah call me skeptical.

Of Urbanan? Everything I've found about it comes from a festschrift for James McCawley, so I think it's pretty reputable ;|

No, of those specific of meanings being applied to monosyllables. Particularly Prime Minister and DNA; why would a dying possibly aboriginal tribe (the very very little I've been able to find on it [which is vague passing mentions in googled pdfs] suggested that) have such specific terms for things which would not likely feature in their lives?

What's the problem? Everything seems to be in order.

[clawgrip]

Their 94-year-old informant was killed in a freak surfing accident?

[gach]

Their 94-year-old informant was killed in a freak surfing accident?

I find it even more remarkable that this study was funded by the NASA together with nazis.

That said, I'd find the text even more entertaining if it would have been written in a less transparently conversational style.

[kuroda]

I apologize for chiming in about Urbanan -- I thought it (and its ilk) were more widely known among linguists & linguophiles, and that the joke would be obvious and not derail the actual thread to the degree it has.

[Imralu]

Yesterday I used the word 'milt' (as in "fish ejaculate").

A friend of mine is beginning to learn German. She's got an app that's pretty good so far. She was showing me the other night. She had to listen to a German sentence and choose the English translation from three options below. There was a typo ... milk had been replaced by milt so the sentence was "The woman is drinking milt."

Got milt?

[Salmoneus]

A salp is any of a group of free-swimming tunicates of the genus Sarpa.

[Hallow XIII]

A rag is a group of colts.

[Zontas]

My favorite word to use in Scrabble: zax (n.)- a specific roofing tool with edges similar to an adz/adze. From OE seax "knife", whence also sax (tool). Initial "z" perhaps from West Country English's pronunciation (as with vane, vixen, and vat) or for differentiation from sax (musical instrument abbreviation).

[Imralu]

Initial "z" perhaps from West Country English's pronunciation (as with vane, vixen, and vat)

I wish that caught on more. When the zun zets it looks like it valls slowly (zlowly?) from the sky.