Wednesday, August 30, 2006

peri

n. In Persian belief, a fairy or
spiritual being excluded from paradise
till penance is accomplished.

tonguester

n. A babbler.

stingo

n. Pungent ale; rare good liquor.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

quietism

n. The practise of resigning oneself to mental inactivity
to bring the soul into direct unity with God.

welcome

Hallo and welcome to this new blog.
First an explanation.
Many years back I lived in a shared house that
was home to a wonderful dictionary filled with obscure
and wonderful English words that had only
recently passed out of common
usage and were left out of most modern mainstream
household dictionaries.
Living in another part of the country I missed that
old dictionary and often prayed that I'd find one like it again.
Shortly I happened upon a discarded book left on a front garden wall top in my neighbourhood.

It was
"The University English Dictionary"
edited by
Dr R.F. Patterson
and published by University Books London N1 England.

This was just what I was looking for. Full of words I'd never heard of and their concise but beautiful definitions.

This blog is where I shall place the occasional word-definition
that strikes me.
A trivial indulgence in one corner of the infinitessimally huge blogosphere.