Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Penrith (where jacarandas remind me of change), New South Wales, Australia
Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 11:07 pm Post subject: favourite (or favorite :-)) quirky word
As soon as I came across "petrichor" ( Friday 2 April, 2004...wordsmith.org )I simply fell head over heels in love with it!.
with thanks to wikipedia..
Petrichor (IPA: pět'ɹǐkəɹ) (from Greek petros, "stone" + ichor) is the scent of rain on dry earth; more specifically, it is the name of the yellow organic oil that yields this scent. The term was coined by two Australian researchers in 1964 for an article in the journal Nature. In the article, the smell is shown to derive from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is adsorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, producing the distinctive scent. In a follow up paper, the researchers showed the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth.
The scent is generally regarded as pleasant and refreshing, and is one of the most frequently cited "favorite smells". In desert regions, the smell is especially strong during the first rain after a long dry spell. The oil yielding the scent can be collected from rocks and concentrated to produce perfume. However, it has yet to be synthesized, perhaps due to its complexity. It is composed of more than fifty distinct chemical substances.
[edit]
References
I. J. Bear & R. G. Thomas: "Nature of argillaceous odour", Nature 201(4923):993-995 (Mar 1964)
I. J. Bear & R. G. Thomas: "Petrichor and plant growth", Nature 207(5005):1415-1416 (Sep. 1965)
[edit]
****************
"But, even in the other pieces, her prose breaks into passages of lyrical
beauty that come as a sorely needed revivifying petrichor amid the pitiless glare of callousness and cruelty."
Pradip Bhattacharya; Forest Interludes; Indianest.com; Jul 29, 2001.
It has been raining here for a few days....exquisite and welcoming since we're on water restrictions...'n my husband used "petrichor" in conversation..so delightfully as if it's the most easily used word in the universe...'twas fun!...language IS fun methinks
I look forward to learning of other quirky words...via you darlings.. _________________ "I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson
Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 1196 Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:36 am Post subject:
I love that smell, but had never thought there might be a word to describe it. Thank you for enlightening me, madame, oh fount of knowledge.
I wish I could give you a word in return, but can't think of any at the moment. Might have to raid World Wide Words. _________________ Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness
What a fabulous word, and for such a fabulous smell too! _________________ If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:38 pm Post subject: favourite (or favorite :-)) quirky word
Petrichor does sound good too, like a sci-fi/fantasy villain! It is I, Petrichor the Pitiless!! Look on my works and no giggling!!
One I love is a stitched word from three: wotthehell! As in Mehitabel the alley cat's comment... 'wotthehell, wotthehell, toujours gai, Archy and always a lady...'
Also, Festoon, Gadroon and Repousse, which are silverware terms and so wonderful to my ear that they became Lord Festoon and Lady Repousse Overstruck in a story I wrote. Also a gentleman was in charge of the Light Gadroons! And that was before I found Chrismatory, Vinaigrette, and Ciborium!
Tristesse may have a sad meaning, but I always loved the sound of it. I used to think it would be a lovely name for a girl... er, and then I discovered what it meant!!! Ahem. _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard.
Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 57 Location: boston, the home of the bean and the cod
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:
snarky and smarmy are two great adjectives for people's demeanors.. _________________ "Nobody can teach you how to make the perfect cup of tea. It just happens over time. Wearing cashmere helps of course."
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Penrith (where jacarandas remind me of change), New South Wales, Australia
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:
ah Griffin..then you would have been able to say: "Bonjour Tristesse"
I love your collection...fun fun fun
A popular playground joke in Britain states that the longest word in the English language is elastic because it will always stretch. _________________ "I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson
Joined: 24 Sep 2004 Posts: 443 Location: Paris, France
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject:
Some of my favorites include: curlicued, discombobulated, balderdash, to gallivant, petulant, and axolotl. (I should try to use them all in the same sentence.)
Joined: 17 Aug 2005 Posts: 307 Location: Far, far away
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:54 pm Post subject:
Since I am trying to quell (that's a great word, isn't it?) my propensity for snarkiness (that's a mean word and one of my baser qualities ) and pretension (cf. words "quell" & "propensity"), I can't use it. I'm not British.
However, I think the word "gormless" is brilliant . It sounds like what it means.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:55 pm Post subject: favourite (or favorite :-)) quirky word
Quote:
curlicued, discombobulated, balderdash, to gallivant, petulant, and axolotl
Clotilde, I do like discombobulated and gallivanting is a pleasure not to be missed! I love tatterdemalion too! Now then... as you have helped me, I shall have to give this a try...
My curlicued axolotl is never petulant when he gallivants, but when not gallivanting he becomes discombobulated and yells 'Balderdash!' in a petulant way. How's that?
Quote:
ah Griffin..then you would have been able to say: "Bonjour Tristesse"
But then she would have said sadly, 'je part, helas pour Joie!'
I like snarky and smarmy... I suspect that snarky was what the hunted Snark was on being discovered. The thought of that smarmy hunter just snarked the Snark. _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard.
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Penrith (where jacarandas remind me of change), New South Wales, Australia
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:00 pm Post subject:
talk about wordplay! _________________ "I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson
Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 1196 Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:05 am Post subject:
snarky and smarmy immediately conjure up Professor Snape. I guess 'conjure' is the right word to use, since he's a wizard.
Deste, I'm familiar with gormless of course, but then I started wondering ... so what would 'gormful', 'gormly' and other derivatives mean? And do they actually exist? _________________ Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:49 am Post subject: favourite (or favorite :-)) quirky word
Deste,
As a Brit, I hereby grant you legal rights to use the word Snarky and it's variants! And if the judge asks, you can tell him I said so! Tho' I'd keep your propensities under control, they wreak havoc if let loose on the furniture. You'd have to quell them then.
Judy,
Alan Rickman does snark well doesn't he? Alan Rickman, King of Snark!
Gormless is wonderful suggesting as it does a distinct lack of Gorms. I think if you have them, then you'd be Gormed or Gormful. If you were doing something that required all your common sense and it was working I suppose you'd be gormfully employed...!
I like the word Snickersnee, which is more famously used in Jabberwocky (also a great word - from a distance and when armed). It has the almost careless cruelty of swordplay implicit in the snickering.
Filberts I've always liked too. I think Filbert was the less famous brother of Albert. _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard.
Joined: 18 Oct 2004 Posts: 1654 Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:30 pm Post subject:
My mother still warns me not to get 'snarky', and uses persnickity with strange frequency. I will not be adding them to my list of favorites.
Spindleshanks cracks me up.
Doppleganger is a good one I rarely get to say.
I love the flow of the French days of the week. Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi, Jeudi, Vendredi, Samedie, Dimanche. I am attempting to teach my husband to speak French and I love hearing him repeat the days of the week.
Champignon _________________ "It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."
All times are GMT + 1 Hour Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6Next
Page 1 of 6
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Last posts feed
Register
Log in
)I simply fell head over heels in love with it!.
) and pretension (cf. words "quell" & "propensity"), I can't use it. I'm not British.
