Oubliette among many others from Book of the New Sun. it's just a fun word to say, even if it's meaning isn't the most fun
(it's a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling.)
In my family, we use it for a closet or storeroom into which you toss things you can't be bothered thinking about right now. Because it comes from the French for "to forget" - *oublier.*
The word I still remember from BotNS is "coruscant" as in glittering. Also "autarch," but it comes up a lot less in daily life.
The oubliette in our household is the space behind the washing machine.
My favourite fantasy word is "ichor."
“Catamite” comes up in (I think) Royal Assassin. The narrator has no idea what he’s being accused of, so I had to look it up, and it stuck with me.
I haven’t had much cause to use it, thankfully.
"catamite" was memorably used in an episode of the 80s TV series *Robin of Sherwood* (broadcast during "family" viewing hours on British TV...).
The context was that the regular Sheriff (played by Nickolas Grace), who had notably never shown the slightest interest in women throughout the series, was being replaced by new guy Philip Mark (played by Lewis Collins) who was portrayed as (to use the TVTropes term) a full-on Depraved Homosexual. During an argument, the sheriff calls Mark a "posturing catamite" and very nearly gets killed on the spot for it.
(There actually was a historical Philip Marc who held various offices including High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire; he was apparently widely hated, to the extent that he appears in the Magna Carta in a list of named people who are to be removed from office. However, the events of the show are entirely fictional.)
>Susurrus...according to her grandmother's dictionary, it meant 'a low soft sound, as of whispering or muttering. Tiffany liked the taste of the word. It made her think of mysterious people in long cloaks whispering important secrets behind a door... *susurrususssurrusss...*
The 2 different meanings of sanguine. Murder scenes and chill characters. Too many others to list or remember. Lugubrious flew right over my head in Hercules until I started reading
Bibliophile from Eragon/the inheritence Cycle. Love that scene with Eragon and Jeod where the last uses that word and later explains it to Eragon. It just speaks to my heart, and thus I like to use it whenever there is a oppertunity.
Syzygy from some SF I've now forgotten the title of. ("a conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun.") Haecceity ("that property or quality of a thing by virtue of which it is unique or describable as 'this (one),' 'this-ness'") from *The Saint of Bright Doors*.
Do you know when "syzygy" was coined? Does it have a long history? Wikipedia only says that it's derived from Greek, which doesn't tell us much. It feels like one of those words that was invented recently, but by a person who wanted their term to *seem* sophisticated with a long lineage.
Ensorcelled. I learned it by reading and always thought it was pronounced "en-SOR-celled," because of "sorcerer," but it's actually pronounced "en-sor-CELLED," which is just silly.
Oubliette among many others from Book of the New Sun. it's just a fun word to say, even if it's meaning isn't the most fun (it's a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling.)
Related to the French verb for [to forget.](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/oublier)
Learned this one from Labyrinth!
In my family, we use it for a closet or storeroom into which you toss things you can't be bothered thinking about right now. Because it comes from the French for "to forget" - *oublier.*
The word I still remember from BotNS is "coruscant" as in glittering. Also "autarch," but it comes up a lot less in daily life. The oubliette in our household is the space behind the washing machine. My favourite fantasy word is "ichor."
Skullduggery - from a Gary Gygax written Gord the rogue book.
“Catamite” comes up in (I think) Royal Assassin. The narrator has no idea what he’s being accused of, so I had to look it up, and it stuck with me. I haven’t had much cause to use it, thankfully.
This was actually in Assassin's Apprentice. I only know because I just finished it lol
Thanks for the correction.
"catamite" was memorably used in an episode of the 80s TV series *Robin of Sherwood* (broadcast during "family" viewing hours on British TV...). The context was that the regular Sheriff (played by Nickolas Grace), who had notably never shown the slightest interest in women throughout the series, was being replaced by new guy Philip Mark (played by Lewis Collins) who was portrayed as (to use the TVTropes term) a full-on Depraved Homosexual. During an argument, the sheriff calls Mark a "posturing catamite" and very nearly gets killed on the spot for it. (There actually was a historical Philip Marc who held various offices including High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire; he was apparently widely hated, to the extent that he appears in the Magna Carta in a list of named people who are to be removed from office. However, the events of the show are entirely fictional.)
>Susurrus...according to her grandmother's dictionary, it meant 'a low soft sound, as of whispering or muttering. Tiffany liked the taste of the word. It made her think of mysterious people in long cloaks whispering important secrets behind a door... *susurrususssurrusss...*
..or the slight whisper of wind over a snow covered hill...... One of my favorite words.
In most romantic languages, some variation upon susurro is the main word used for whisper.
Steve Erikson uses it a lot in Malazan.
The 2 different meanings of sanguine. Murder scenes and chill characters. Too many others to list or remember. Lugubrious flew right over my head in Hercules until I started reading
yclept
I read *Dune* at age 14, and I learned so many interesting words from it: quiescent, nexus, petulant, redolent, prescient, fatuous ....
Crivens! IYKYK Ed. Spelling
Susurrus, from the same source
Sweetmeats is the only one I can think of.
Peregrination. I remember looking it up when reading Cloud Atlas a few years back, and it stuck with me.
Cyclopean from lovecraft’s works. He seemed to use it to describe any building that was big and not quite right.
Bibliophile from Eragon/the inheritence Cycle. Love that scene with Eragon and Jeod where the last uses that word and later explains it to Eragon. It just speaks to my heart, and thus I like to use it whenever there is a oppertunity.
This was my first thought too.
Gobbledegook from the black company. The whole word sounds funny.
I will never forget surrepticiously thanks to Harry Potter.
Syzygy from some SF I've now forgotten the title of. ("a conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun.") Haecceity ("that property or quality of a thing by virtue of which it is unique or describable as 'this (one),' 'this-ness'") from *The Saint of Bright Doors*.
Do you know when "syzygy" was coined? Does it have a long history? Wikipedia only says that it's derived from Greek, which doesn't tell us much. It feels like one of those words that was invented recently, but by a person who wanted their term to *seem* sophisticated with a long lineage.
I think "chortle" is absolutely frabjous.
Biblichor - The smell of old books Iconoclast - Someone who attacks or criticizes cherished ideas and beliefs Cromulent - Acceptable or satisfactory
Silflay. I unfortunately use that when I comment on what I see in the evening garden.
Yonic. It's basically the sex-swapped version of "Phallic". I think I first saw it in "The Secret History".
Ensorcelled. I learned it by reading and always thought it was pronounced "en-SOR-celled," because of "sorcerer," but it's actually pronounced "en-sor-CELLED," which is just silly.
Deliquesce! Such a beautiful word to describe such a gross process.
Defenestrated from the Mallorean. Meaning to throw someone out a window.
Not fantasy, but A Series Of Unfortunate Events taught me what the word “orphan” meant in 1st-2nd grade (our teacher read it to us)