Well, not new words. Words that are new to me.
I’m really enjoying the following words:
Hirsute – adj: 1. Hairy; shaggy. 2. Botany, Zoology. covered with long, rather stiff hairs. 3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of hair.
How I came upon it: Kirsty. Also… [Origin: 1615–25; < L hirsÅ«tus rough, shaggy, bristly; akin to horrid]
Vexillology – n: The study of flags.
How I came upon it: Looking at the Chicago Municipal Flag Wikipedia entry after reading Russell’s blog. City flags seem to be the ugly step-children of the flag design world. In for a laugh? Look through the City Flag study done by the North American Vexillogical Association (NAVA). There’s some really bad design in there, but it’s great.
Portmanteau – n: 1. A case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, esp. a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves. 2. A new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings; `smog’ is a blend of `smoke’ and `fog’; `motel’ is a portmanteau word made by combining `motor’ and `hotel’.
How I came upon it: Looking at the UNIQLO Wikipedia entry. UNIQLO is a portmanteau of Unique and Clothing.
Comments
For years I thought that “hirsute” was actually “hair-suit”… which does make more sense, in a way.
Quite appropriate. It’s such a funny, interesting word. And fun to say.