Did the ebberman defenestrate the flibbertigibbet?

To continue with our list of interesting, if unusual, words let’s start today by looking at defenestration – the act of throwing someone or something out of the window. Although use of the word suggests that the glass in the window will be broken, the act of defenestration need not necessarily imply the intent to kill the person who is being thrown out, although personally I would prefer not to take the chance.  Usage of this word can be traced back to 1618, and the second “defenestration of Prague”, where two Catholic Imperial Governors and their secretary were defenestrated at Prague Castle. Amazingly all three survived, some Catholics believed their survival was due to divine intervention, whilst many Protestants claimed this was due to the men falling onto a dung heap!   Throughout history there are many examples of defenestration, including the murder of the 8^th Earl of Douglas, William Douglas, by King James 2^nd of Scotland. After murdering the Earl with his bare hands the King then threw him out of the window of Stirling Castle. Also, during the Polish January 1863 uprising, Russian troops threw Chopin’s piano out of the window of a second floor apartment.  

 

Moving on to slightly more pleasant thoughts, I have to ask are you an ebberman?  I am not being rude I promise; this simply refers to one who fishes under bridges! Now to me this conjures up a beautiful, tranquil image of a lazy summer day.  The plural of this lovely little word is ebbermen, and I’m sorry but I couldn’t find a female version but I’m happy to go with ebberwomen if you are? You may be more familiar seeing Ebberman as a surname or family name. It is difficult to ascertain the country of origin of this name as families of Ebberman can be found across the world. Oh, and just as an aside, for all you crossword or puzzle lovers, you can make 200 English words with the letters contained in ebberman, including babe, ban, mare and ream.  

On the other hand you may have no interest in fishing at all. Perhaps you are more of a flibbertigibbet?  This noun describes someone, usually a young woman, who is seen as frivolous, flighty and a bit of a gossiper.  I am sure, if we think hard enough, we can all think of someone who matches that description!  The word flibbertigibbet is an old Middle English word referring to someone flighty and whimsical. Historically the word has also been used as a name for a fiend, devil or spirit. We only need to look at Shakespeare’s King Lear to find the evidence of this.  Although in modern days it is most likely to be used to describe a silly, scatterbrained chatterbox. Use this word with caution – the person you are talking about just may know the meaning!  If you want to earn extra Brownie points you may prefer to tell them they are felicific, meaning that they cause happiness.

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