this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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Overmorrow refers to the day after tomorrow and I feel like it comes in quite handy for example.

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[–] sanguinepar@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (6 children)

I'm currently reading through all of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, and one fun feature is that he almost always includes one or more very obscure words. It's a nice little thing to look out for.

In the one I'm currently reading it's, "peculate," meaning to embezzle or steal money. Others include:

  • Plerophory - Fullness, especially of conviction or persuasion
  • Apodictically - From apodictic: clearly established or beyond dispute
  • Usufruct - The right to enjoy the use and advantages of another's property short of the destruction or waste of its substance
  • Acarpous - Not producing fruit; sterile; barren
  • Yclept - By the name of
  • Eruction - A belch or burp

I had a look to see if I could find a full list but sadly not. However most Wikipedia entries for the individual novels include a section called, "The unfamiliar word," if you want to find more.

[–] LemmyRefugee@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It’s curious to see how things merge between languages. In Spain, both usufruct (usufructo) and eruction (eructo) are quite common words.

[–] sanguinepar@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Oh really? That's cool, thanks for the info. Language is so fascinating πŸ‘

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