Our list of interesting and not very often used words just
keeps growing and growing! Today we are nearing the end of the alphabet and
looking at words starting with the letters “v” “w” and “x”. I think we have an
amusing assortment, and hopefully you will find something you can slip into a
conversation over the weekend and raise a couple of eyebrows!
I have to confess, after a week of overindulging at birthday
celebrations I feel the following word could be very fitting to describe myself
at present! Ventripotent is an adjective used to describe someone with a big
belly. It can also be used to describe a greedy individual with a great
capacity for food. Oh dear – diet really is starting tomorrow!
If you are feeling very naughty you may just fancy a spot of
vesthibitionism. For those of you who have not heard of this, it is the
flirtatious display of undergarments by a woman. Ummm, I’m sure my readers are
far too verecund to indulge in such a pastime. Verecund, from the Latin vereri
meaning to fear, means modest or shy.
What about a simple little word like woundy. Any ideas of
the definition of this word? Well, you may take an educated guess that it could
relate to causing wounds or being characterised by wounds and you would be
correct. However, there is also an alternative, meaning excessively or
extremely as given in the Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary published in
1913. One may talk of asking a woundy price for an item or being woundy cold.
On the other hand one may prefer to talk of an extortionate price and being
freezing – the choice is yours!
Earlier we were talking of diets and having a few xerophagy
days may certainly help me get back into shape. Xerophagy is a restrictive
diet, a form of fasting by eating dry foods only. An example may be a diet of
bread and water that may be enforced as a punishment or followed as a form of
religious discipline. The following quote from The Catholic Encyclopedia,
Volume 1 states “Fridays, or on days during their various
Lenten seasons (Wednesdays and Fridays excepted), a complete or partial
suspension of xerophagy takes place.”
When looking at words that begin with the letter x there are
many examples of words that relate to
the fear of something, such as xerophobia – the fear of dryness or dry places,
xylophobia – the fear of forests or woods and xenophobia – the fear of
foreigners. However lets finish on a
more positive note and I will leave you with xenophilia – a love of foreigners.
A xenophile is a person who is attracted to that which is foreign such as
people, traditions and cultures.
As always, if you would like help with your written English,
please visit our website www.writtenenglishcorrected.com As a special
offer for June there is a 10% discount for any customers who mention the blog
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