Make up a word and its definition
Topic #230:
Make up a word and its definition.
We’ll pick the best invented words and highlight them in a future post.
Background: The English language, like all languages, is always changing. Words are always moving in how they are used, and older words decline in use, while new words enter common usage. Any lexicographer will tell you dictionaries are meant to record usage, rather than to define it permanently, which is why they release new dictionaries every year.
Shakespeare for example, made up many new words and changed the usage of many old words and sayings. And often words enter English from other languages. The German word schadenfreude, which means to take pleasure in other people’s misfortune, entered the language because there was no single word with that meaning.
How to come up with a new word:
- Think about a situation or a problem that’s common, that doesn’t have a single word for it, and then make one up.
- Combine two words together, like making smog from smoke + fog. This is called a portmanteau. For example, when your coffee is too hot to to drink, could be called a cofferno (coffee + inferno).
- If you know more than one language, think of a word you like from another language that’s hard to explain in English.
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Photographess – Female Photographer
amado = the loved one but also amor desesperado AM- or desesper ADO which is funny, it becomes beloved
Spengogolist. One who practices Spengogolism.
Spengogolism. The practice of living life in your unique truth.
How about Teleweight — weight one gains from snacking while watching television? To use it in a sentence: She went on a diet to lose some teleweight, a result of her House-marathon addition. (substitute any popular TV program for House here)
sorry, meant to say addiCtion.
Cosmoholotech- A holistically conscious and technological cosmopolitanism.
Mine is megagaltasticism. Someone is already working on getting megagaltastic included in the dictionary, but I needed a noun.
Megagaltastic means having a very broad vocabulary.
How about “Infamiety”? Where people pride themselves for being infamously known. I typed this word out while writing a story and had to backtrack because I didn’t know why my fingers typed it out this way. It was supposed to be “infamously” but my fingers typed it as “infamiety”. I think it looks like a word so I’ll toss it in.
Twhining .. too much whining.
Voluntold: When I tell my Hot Hubbie that I have volunteered him to help in some way or another. As in, “My wife voluntold me to clean up after the neighborhood party” or “I was voluntold to help in the classroom”.
Hahahaha I love this one!
Thanks. My Hot Hubbie doesn’t like it much, but the word is catching on here in our neck of the woods. It can be so useful sometimes. Yesterday I was voluntold to help in the kiddos PTO. “Ugh,” I say with a smirk on my face.
I decided to share a funny one that my little girl came up with recently.
http://dorkydeb.com/2011/08/25/make-up-a-word-and-its-definition/
Only the cool people make new words.
Yall are fan-tab-u-lous!!
The word is slickery which means it is slick and slippery outside.
cineflicker – someone who likes flickering light that comes from a cinema’s projector. : )
http://thehiltonburnellfiles.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/make-up-a-word-and-its-definition/
stiffapopylyus- fee;ling angery, frustrated, and sad all at the same time.
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/fun-with-words-premature-ejackulation/
ACKolade:
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/fun-with-words-ackolade/
ACKcessory:
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/fun-with-words-ackcessory/
ACKlimate:
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2010/09/06/fun-with-words-acklimate/
WONG adj. 1 : Way Outlandish, Nearly Galactic 2 : unusually good
Synonyms : marvelous, astounding
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/on-the-road-again/
scythe-a-holic: adj. A person fascinated of the awesomeness of scythes.
I use “prossibly” quite often which means more likely than possibly but not as likely as probably.
My favourite and most used/useful is “internot” which is what you get when the internet is not working.
And then there’s a favourite phrase which uses the word “sparrowfart” – “crack of sparrowfart” which means its so early in the morning the sparrows haven’t even had their early morning fart let alone starting singing for us! I think I got that one from my dad.
My son made up a word
Wobby. He calls me it for mom, just to irritate me.
my word is:
BLOGUIDELINES – This refers to a list of things to remember when writing blog posts. bloguidelines ..
and HAPPYNING – a happy happening. hehe
more words I previous made up are listed here: http://joknut.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/made-up-words-to-date/
Thanks!
I got a little carried away…
http://fishofgold.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/furious-spurious-lexis/
BOMB-BLAST:THE MINISTER’S ENTOURAGE WAS BOMBED BY THE DISSIDENTS,AND THERE WAS A THUNDEROUS BLAST THAT COULD BE HEARD 50KMS. AWAY!
It’s not a new word as in fresh this minute, more a new word that we’ve been using for some time now…
http://julieshort.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/new-word-august-2011/
It was very amusing at the time of first use and now has a regular place in our home conversations. At least I don’t think I’ve used it when speaking with anyone else (!)
Oops, forgot to include the word…
Bleons – speed – as in time passing
The blog gives the background…
http://julieshort.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/new-word-august-2011/
To Macguyver
To fix something improvising what is at hand
Have Macguyvered
Macguyvering
Not a new word, but interesting to know (try and say that fast three times in a row!)
Sesquipedalophobia or Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long words
shay shay ——–move it.
twitterfication: To use misspellings and abbreviations (intentional or otherwise) to the end of conserving characters when posting on Twitter. (Not mine, but necessary for what I came up with.)
twitblivion from twitterfy and oblivion. the state of being twitterfied to the extent that the phrase or sentence is practically illegible to anyone with the possible (but not mandatory) exception of the author.
Sharing the word I’ve been using that was out of the dictionary for now
http://ittakes10k.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/1-344-of-10000-jaber-jaber
I’ve read some really great words. Great job everyone. Please click on my pingback above to read mine. Thanks!
http://wp.me/pfgmC-aV
I had made up a new word and its meaning some time back:
Denemy
Definition:
A pair of jeans you simply love but it refuses to fit you no matter how hard you try.
“SOCIO-ECONOMIC”-(SOCIETY-PEOPLE IN GENERAL,LIVING TOGETHER IN COMMUNITIES)-(ECONOMY-THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCTION,TRADE AND THE SUPPLY OF MONEY,IN ANY GIVEN SOCIETY.SOCIO-ECONOMIC POLICIES ARE THEREFORE INTER-TWINED POLICIES THAT REGULATE A SOCIETY
Atmosflavour – Having a particularly unique or exotic perspective, feeling, or ambience in a given location or situation. Usually involves multiple senses (sight, sounds, and smell)..
eg. “Walking around the city I noticed each block I passed had its own atmosflavour.”
Vocabularian: a person who is very proficient with words; a person with an extensive vocabulary. (“He/she is quite the vocabularian.”)