GA dictionary

[Tiger]

The purpose of this thread is to expand the vocabulary of GA authors and anyone else who is interested in expanding his or her vocabulary. Knowing more words will add a little spice to your stories. This is how it works. If you come across a word you do not know in a story you are reading, find the definition in a dictionary. Also, even if you hear a new word on TV or while reading an article or while talking to someone, feel free to add it! And yes, you can find definitions to words online, though some online dictionaries are better than others. Please post the source (where applicable) too. I will start with the word I didn't know before. it is a short word, but I'd never heard it before.

 

savant- 1: a person of learning; especially : one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field (as of science or literature)

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/savant

 

I also found a compound word variation.

 

idiot savant- 1: a person affected with a mental disability (as autism or mental retardation) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field (as mathematics or music) —called also savant

 

2: a person who is highly knowledgeable about one subject but knows little about anything else

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiot+savant

[MikeL]

Tump

 

Noun

tump (plural tumps)

 

• (UK, rare) A mound or hillock.

Verb

to tump (third-person singular simple present tumps, present participle tumping, simple past and past participle tumped)

 

• (transitive, Southern US) to bump, knock (usu. used with "over")

  Don't tump that bucket over!

• (intransitive, Southern US) To fall over.

Source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tump

[Tiger]

That's an interesting word, Mike.

[MikeL]

That's an interesting word, Mike.

 

I've used it all my life, but my wife, the English teacher, claims there is no such word. It's not only in Wiktionary, but also in unabridged printed dictionaries.

[Tiger]

I've used it all my life, but my wife, the English teacher, claims there is no such word. It's not only in Wiktionary, but also in unabridged printed dictionaries.

 

Perhaps she thinks it's archaic.

[MikeL]

Perhaps she thinks it's archaic.

 

Perhaps it is. Perhaps she is. Just kidding of course.

[JamesSavik]

turd blossom

 

 

Noun

 

US slang: origins- Texas, Southwestern

 

1) A wildflower that grows in cow dung.

Ain't that a cute little turd blossom?

 

2) Any positive consequence that comes from something unwholesome.

Striking gas was the only turd blossom to come out of our oil drilling cluster f**k.

 

3) An annoying person with a smart mouth.

Sarah's little brother is quite the turd blossom.

[Tiger]

That's a good one, James.

[Kavrik]

Cement (n) -- any of various calcined mixtures of clay and limestone, usually mixed with water and sand, gravel, etc., to form concrete, that are used as a building material.

 

 

The reason I'm posting this is because I see this word used incorrectly a lot. Cement is an ingredient in concrete. So you really cannot have a "cement" floor. The proper term is concrete floor. It really annoys me when I read "cement" this and "cement" that in writing. I guess that's what I get for having an engineering background.

 

[Tiger]

I'm adding an often misspelled/misinterpreted word. People seem to think that the spelling is premadonna. However, the term has nothing to do with the artist, Madonna. The term is prima donna. Here is the definition:

 

1: a principal female singer in an opera or concert organization

 

2: a vain or undisciplined person who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prima+donna

[Tiger]

protuberant- thrusting out from a surrounding or adjacent surface often as a rounded mass : prominent <protuberant eyes>

[bigbear427]

Here's one of my favorites...

 

 

Adjective

obstreperous (comparative more obstreperous, superlative most obstreperous)

 

• Attended by, or making, a loud and tumultuous noise; boisterous.

  The obstreperous mirth swiftly turned into yells of dismay.

   

• Noisily and stubbornly defiant.

see: Wiktionary

[bigbear427]

I'll add one more I found interesting...

 

Adjective

profligate (comparative more profligate, superlative most profligate)

• Inclined to waste resources or behave extravagantly.
• Immoral; abandoned to vice.

Noun

 

profligate (plural profligates)

 

• An abandoned person; one openly and shamelessly vicious; a dissolute person.
• An overly wasteful or extravagant individual.

SEE: Wictionary

[Dannsar]

Interesting ... my usual definition of obstreporous would be slightly aggressive and anti control.

[Dannsar]

Anyhoo ... some misusages that annoy me ...

 

loose ... is to be unfastened etc

lose ... is something not in your possession

... the first does not mean the second

 

story ... is the thing we all write

storey ... is the floor of a building

... the first does not mean the second

 

I can never be over the number of times these are misused. So often, they can't be typos.

 

And don't even get me started on apostrophes lol

[Fianna Ai]

A favorite of mine:

 

scru·ti·nize   [skroot-n-ahyz] verb, -nized, -niz·ing.verb (used with object) 1. to examine in detail with careful or critical attention.

2. to conduct a scrutiny.(used without object)

 

scrutinization, n; scrutinzer, n; scrutinizingly, adv; rescrutinize, v; self-scrutinized, adj

 

Synonyms:

analyze, consider, contemplate, dissect, explore, inspect, investigate, peruse, scan, search, study, survey

 

source: Dictionary.com, LLC © 2011

 

[Abersloth]

A couple words that I like, often misused for a lack of understanding.

 

 

Definition of SENSUAL

1: relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite. 2: sensory

 

An innocent hug can be an incredibly sensual experience. The feel of the cloth, the warmth of the body, the smells intermingling, the details of a person that are visible only from very close. Sensuality caries with it sexual connotation, but it need not do so.

 

Compliment versus Complement

"Your hair is beautiful" is a compliment.

The light green in your tie complements your green eyes.

 

Two things are complementary if they complete one another.