The Phrontistery


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Lost Words: N-R

A-E F-M N-R S-Z Index


namelings npl 1706 -1706
persons bearing the same name
The namelings Martin Luther and Dr. King shared a concern with political reform.
nepheliad n 1818 -1821
cloud-nymph
Like a nepheliad, the skydiver dove gracefully through the clouds.
nequient adj 1656 -1656
not being able
While the other students understand algebra, you are still nequient in this simple art.
nerterology n 1800 -1800
learning relating to the dead or the underworld
Her inquiries into nerterology were inspired by a youthful visit to a medieval crypt.
nidifice n 1656 -1656
a nest
The lizard climbed into the nidifice, only to be eaten by the mother eagle.
noscible adj 1654 -1654
knowable; well-known
It is noscible that no amount of training can make up for experience in the field.
novaturient adj 1679 -1679
desiring changes or alterations
The novel's author rightly rejected the novaturient wishes of the screenwriters
nubivagant adj 1656 -1656
moving throughout or among clouds
The glider flew like a nubivagant bird before emerging out of the clouds and into view.
obacerate v 1656 -1658
to stop one's mouth
When he swore onstage, several audience members obacerated themselves.
obarmate v 1623 -1658
to arm against
Let us obarmate ourselves for the upcoming battle against the Mongols!
obrumpent adj 1656 -1656
breaking; bursting
The guests were startled to attention by the sound of obrumpent balloons.
obstrigillate v 1623 -1656
to oppose; to resist
I will not obstrigillate the efforts of my opponent to besmirch my good name.
occaecation n 1608 -1691
the act of blinding
After his occaecation, he was unable to enjoy simple pleasures such as reading.
occulcation n 1656 -1656
act of treading on or trampling
Repeated occulcations of this field by soldiers have left it useless for agriculture.
odynometer n 1889 -1893
instrument for measuring pain
Suspecting his patient's illness to be feigned, he pulled out his trusty odynometer.
omniregency n 1616 -1670
universal rulership; state of complete authority
The principle of omniregency is now seriously mistrusted, and not only by radicals.
oncethmus n 1656 -1656
braying
The oncethmus of most politicians is far worse than that given off by any beast.
operiment n 1650 -1656
a covering
If you don't get an operiment for your classic car, it will rust away in a brief time.
oporopolist n 1671 -1725
fruit-seller
Our oporopolist's oranges often offer odd odours.
orgiophant n 1886 -1886
one who presides over orgies
The orgiophant had dozens of hangers-on who sought to attend his parties.
ossifragant adj 1656 -1656
bone-breaking
The ossifragant wrestler earned a reputation for brutality, so no one would fight him
ovablastic adj 1922 -1922
making eggs burst open in the womb
The doctor rejected the ovablastic technique, finding it to violate his moral principles.
palintocy n 1693 -1847
repayment of interest paid on a loan
I understand you can't pay me everything, but I demand a palintocy, at the very least.
palmoscopy n 1857 -1890
observation of heartbeat or pulse as part of medical diagnosis
Even without his medical bag, he could use palmoscopy to diagnose her heart attack.
pamphagous adj 1702 -1702
eating everything; all-consuming
To the pamphagous victor goes the Golden Wiener of Triumphal Consumption!
panchymagogue n 1657 -1893
medicine purging all the humours from the body
What you need is a good panchymagogue to get you back on your feet!
pannuscorium n 1858 -1860
soft leather cloth used on the tops of shoes and boots
The pannuscorium of his old shoes was covered in indelible stains.
papicolist n 1633 -1810
one who worships the pope; a papist
Today, even papicolists grudgingly admit that papal infallibility cannot be literally true.
parepochism n 1685 -1685
error in dating or assigning time period
The antique dealer was well known for his parepochisms, so we didn't feel too bad.
paterophobia n 1840 -1840
fear of the early Church fathers
The Romans' paterophobia mellowed over time, until Christianity was fully accepted.
patration n 1656 -1656
perfection or completion of something
The patration of my dissertation will be an occasion for great merriment.
pecuarious adj 1656 -1658
serving or belonging to beasts or cattle
The children tossed the pecuarious leavings at one another, to their parents' dismay.
pedegorize v 1665 -1665
to construct a pedigree; to derive through a pedigree
The owners of the racehorse took great efforts to pedegorize her carefully.
penarious adj 1656 -1658
of or pertaining to victuals or provisions
The quartermaster is in charge of penarious matters, so stay out of his business!
penintime adj 1686 -1718
second from inmost
Venus, our solar system's penintime planet, is Earth's twin in many regards.
perantique adj 1883 -1883
very antique or ancient
She treasured the perantique mirror even though the glass was somewhat warped.
pessundate v 1656 -1658
to cast down or ruin
The Roman Empire was pessundated by its economic woes rather than moral decline.
phalerate adj 1656 -1702
ornamented; decorated
The phalerate umbrella-stand in the corner of the room attracted the guests' attention.
phasianic adj 1884 -1884
of or pertaining to pheasants
Our phasianic hunting-trips have become increasingly futile in recent years.
philargyrist n 1633 -1663
lover of money; covetous person
I am no philargyrist, but I like to live well, so charity isn't in my best interest.
phlyarologist n 1867 -1867
one who talks nonsense
He was a petty phlyarologist who could rarely hold an intelligent conversation.
phoenigm n 1646 -1858
reddening of the skin; reddish medical application
The phoenigm of his cheeks after the race testified both to his fatigue and his elation.
phylactology n 1966 -1966
science of counter-espionage
Though phylactology reached its peak in the Cold War, it is arguably still important.
pication n 1684 -1684
application of warm pitch to the skin as medical treatment
While it seems harsh, pication is effective for cleansing pores and restoring skin tone.
pigritude n 1623 -1656
slothfulness
Despite the college student's pigritude, he continued to maintain a 'B' average.
piladex n 1897 -1901
game where an inflated bag is hit with hand to keep aloft across a table
From piladex to hacky-sack, pastimes involving hitting objects are known to all ages.
pilimiction n 1847 -1874
passing of hair-like bodies in the urine
His doctor was particularly concerned about his pilimiction, for obvious reasons.
plebicolar adj 1626 -1820
courting or appealing to the common people
He profited from his plebicolar demeanour, and avoided the fate of many other nobles.
plegnic adj 1612 -1664
acting by a blow; striking like a hammer; percussive
Her plegnic pounding of the piano-keys contrasted sharply with her tiny frame.
plenisphere n 1912 -1912
a perfect sphere
The iridescent plenispheres in the sky told him that someone was blowing bubbles.
pocilliform adj 1846 -1846
shaped like a little cup
The golf ball hardly budged from its pocilliform resting-spot atop the tee.
poliadic adj 1886 -1886
of the nature of a local or tutelary god
Respect for poliadic spirits and deities continued long after the region converted.
pomarious adj 1656 -1775
of or belonging to an orchard or fruit-garden
Newton's pomarious enlightenment concerning gravity is no more than a myth.
ponask v 1922 -1963
to cook game by splitting it and roasting it on a spit
We ponasked the freshly-caught pheasant at our campsite.
portmantologist n 1887 -1934
one who studies or coins portmanteau words
Rather than being a portmantologist, why not use perfectly good existing words?
prandicle n 1656 -1658
small meal
In those years, she would take several prandicles during the course of each day.
prebition n 1656 -1656
act of offering, showing or setting before
The prebition of his treasure-find to the king earned him great honour and esteem.
pregnatress n 1765 -1765
female power that generates or gives birth to something
As the pregnatress of our little group, her opinion was still highly regarded.
prescited adj 1400 -1660
foreknown or predestined for damnation; condemned
If you believe some of us are prescited from birth, there is no reason to do good works.
primifluous adj 1657 -1657
that which flows first
The primifluous wines of the evening were excellent, unlike the plonk served later.
privign n 1605 -1654
stepson
Though he was only her privign, she always treated him as if he were her own child.
psalloid adj 1756 -1895
resembling a harp or stringed instrument
Her renown as a maker of psalloid instruments led to a position at the royal court.
psephograph n 1906 -1907
machine for automatically recording votes
These newfangled computers are no more reliable than an old-fashioned psephograph.
pseudisodomous adj 1601 -1850
style of wall construction using stones of different thickness
The use of pseudisodomous brickwork gives the room an antique feel.
ptochology n 1891 -1891
study of beggars and unemployment
If we want to understand the roots of poverty, we must undertake work in ptochology.
pudify v 1656 -1656
to cause to be ashamed
Your remarks do not pudify me, for you are as guilty of such offenses as I am!
pugnastics n 1830 -1830
displays of pugilistic ability
Ali's pugnastics were much more impressive than his overly boastful showmanship.
pullarian adj 1652 -1652
of or pertaining to chicken or fowl
Our pullarian mascot was trampled by the opposing team's offensive line.
pyroleter n 1878 -1878
double-pump fire extinguisher that produces carbonic acid
The pyroleter was insufficient to combat the fire at the old library.
quadragintireme n 1799 -1799
vessel with forty rows of oars
He couldn't have reached the battle even if he had been commanding a quadragintireme.
quadrimular adj 1664 -1664
lasting for four years
The quadrimular interval between Olympiads is a long wait in terms of athletes' careers.
quaeritate v 1657 -1657
to question; to inquire
If I might quaeritate, why are we headed in the wrong direction on the trail?
quercivorous adj 1858 -1858
feeding on oak trees
The proliferation of quercivorous insects is a boon rather than a bane to the ecosystem.
quibbleism n 1836 -1836
practice of quibbling
His carping and quibbleism earned him much scorn, a fact of which he was oblivious.
quotientive adj 1871 -1871
indicating how often
She set up the schedule using a quotientive formula to ensure fairness.
radicarian adj 1880 -1880
pertaining to the roots of words
A radicarian knowledge of Latin is of central importance for English etymology.
ramifactive adj 1766 -1766
developing into a branch; forming a branch
Despite the infertility of the soil, the trees retained a limited ramifactive capacity.
recineration n 1657 -1683
second reduction to ashes
The recineration of his book manuscript in the second fire drove him over the edge.
redamancy n 1656 -1656
act of loving in return
Despite his lack of redamancy, her passion for him was unabated for several years.
rendling n 1784 -1784
curdling or setting of cheese
Seeing the realization slowly dawn upon her was like witnessing the rendling of cheese.
resarciate v 1656 -1657
to mend; to make amends
She wanted to resarciate their friendship before it was damaged irreparably.
rhedarious adj 1656 -1656
of or serving as a carriage or chariot
His fancy for rhedarious transport was seen as old-fashioned by his friends.
rhodologist n 1911 -1924
one who studies and classifies roses
Any rhodologist knows that a rose by any other name does not smell as sweet.
rimestock n 1662 -1834
old almanac with runic writings
He bought the old rimestock at auction, but was unaware of its calendric function.
riviation n 1676 -1676
fishing
While anglers are the sort who enjoy quiet contemplation, I find riviation to be boring.
roblet v 1674 -1755
to lead astray
He roblets his intended victims in the old part of the city before mugging them.
rogalian adj 1656 -1656
of or pertaining to a great fire
The books' authors were rightly incensed at their works' rogalian fate under the censors.
rogitate v 1656 -1658
to ask frequently
"Are we there yet?", the kids rogitated, apparently unaware of their parents' frustration.
roomthily adj 1674 -1674
spatially; with respect to space
His bachelor apartment is roomthily challenged, to say nothing of the smell.
rupography n 1838 -1838
art of taking impressions of coins or medals in sealing wax
The police confiscated my rupography tools, thinking that I used them for forgery.
ruricolous adj 1730 -1858
living in the country or in fields
Though the city has its attractions, I much prefer the quiet ruricolous life.


I hope you have found this site to be useful. If you have any corrections, additions, or comments, please contact me. Please note that I am not able to respond to all requests. Please consult a major dictionary before e-mailing your query. All material on this page © 1996-2021 Stephen Chrisomalis. Links to this page may be made without permission.

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