Weird Word Wednesday

eleemosynary

adjective  el·ee·mo·sy·nary \ˌe-li-ˈmä-sə-ˌner-ē, -ˈmō-; -ˈmä-zə-\

Popularity: Bottom 50% of words

Examples: eleemosynary in a Sentence

 Definition of eleemosynary

:  of, relating to, or supported by charity

First Known Use: circa 1616

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eledoisin

noun  el·e·doi·sin \ˌe-lə-ˈdȯi-sən\

Popularity: Bottom 10% of words

Definition of eledoisin

:  a small protein C54H85N13O15S from the salivary glands of several octopuses (genus Eledone) that is a powerful vasodilator and hypotensive agent

First Known Use: 1963

Origin and Etymology of eledoisin

irregular from New Latin Eledone, from Greek eledōnē, a kind of octopus

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eldritch

adjective  el·dritch \ˈel-drich\

Popularity: Bottom 50% of words

Curse, "cobweb," "witch," "ghost," and even "Halloween" - all of these potentially spooky words have roots in Old English. 

 Definition of eldritch

:  weird, eerie

whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch singsong — R. L. Stevenson

First Known Use: 1508

Origin and Etymology of eldritch

perhaps from Middle English *elfriche fairyland, from Middle English elf + riche kingdom, from Old English rice

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eldress

noun  el·dress \ˈel-drəs\

Popularity: Bottom 20% of words

Definition of eldress

:  a woman who is an elder especially of the Shakers

First Known Use: 1640

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eisegesis

noun  eis·ege·sis \ˌī-sə-ˈjē-səs, ˈī-sə-ˌjē-\

Popularity: Bottom 40% of words

Definition of eisegesis

plural eisegesesplay \ˌī-sə-ˈjē-ˌsēz, ˈī-sə-ˌjē-\

:  the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas — compare

Origin and Etymology of eisegesis

Greek eis into (akin to Greek en in) + English exegesis — more at in

First Known Use: 1892

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eigenmode

noun  ei·gen·mode \ˈī-gən-ˌmōd\

Popularity: Bottom 20% of words

Definition of eigenmode

:  a normal mode of vibration of an oscillating system

Origin and Etymology of eigenmode

eigen- (as in eigenvector) + 1mode

First Known Use: 1972

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eider

noun  ei·der \ˈī-dər\

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of eider

1

:  any of several large northern sea ducks (genera Somateria and Polystica) having fine soft down that is used by the female for lining the nest —called also eider duck

Origin and Etymology of eider

Dutch, German, or Swedish, from Icelandic æthur, from Old Norse æthr

First Known Use: 1743

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eicosanoid

noun  ei·cos·a·noid \ī-ˈkō-sə-ˌnȯid\

Popularity: Bottom 40% of words

Definition of eicosanoid

:  any of a class of compounds (such as the prostaglandins) derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as arachidonic acid) and involved in cellular activity

Origin and Etymology of eicosanoid

eicosa- containing 20 atoms (from Greek eikosa- twenty, from eikosi) + -noic, suffix used in names of fatty acids (from -ane + -oic) + 1-oid — more at vigesimal

First Known Use: 1980

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

egregious

adjective  egre·gious \i-ˈgrē-jəs\

Definition of egregious

1

archaic :  distinguished

2

:  conspicuous; especially :  conspicuously bad :  flagrant egregious errors

egregious padding of the evidence — Christopher Hitchens

egregiously adverb

egregiousness noun

Origin and Etymology of egregious

Latin egregius, from e- + greg-, grex herd — more at gregarious

First Known Use: circa 1534

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

eglantine

noun  eg·lan·tine \ˈe-glən-ˌtīn, -ˌtēn\

Definition of eglantine

:  sweetbriar

Origin and Etymology of eglantine

Middle English eglentyn, from Anglo-French eglent, from Vulgar Latin *aculentum, from Latin acus needle; akin to Latin acer sharp — more at edge

First Known Use: 14th century

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

egad

interjection \i-ˈgad\

variants: or egadsplay  \i-ˈgadz\

Definition of egad

—used as a mild oath

Origin and Etymology of egad

probably euphemism for oh God

First Known Use: 1673

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

edacious

adjective  eda·cious \i-ˈdā-shəs\

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

Definition of edacious

1

archaic :  of or relating to eating

2

:  voracious

edacity \i-ˈda-sə-tē\ noun

Examples of edacious in a sentence

my edacious dining companion could always be counted on to order the largest—and often most expensive—item on the menu

Did You Know?

Tempus edax rerum. That wise Latin line by the Roman poet Ovid translates as "Time, the devourer of all things." In its earliest known English uses, edacious meant "of or relating to eating." It later came to be used generally as a synonym of "voracious," and it has often been used specifically in contexts referring to time. That's how Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle used it when he referred to events "swallowed in the depths of edacious Time."

Origin and Etymology of edacious

Latin edac-, edax, from edere to eat — more at eat

First Known Use: circa 1798

Kelley Heckart

Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

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Weird Word Wednesday

ecphrasis

noun  ec·phra·sis

Popularity: Bottom 10% of words

Less common spelling of ekphrasis

:  a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

ecphoria

noun  ec·pho·ria \ek-ˈfōr-ē-ə\

Medical Definition of ecphoria

plural ecphorias or ecphoriae \-ē-ˌē\play

:  the rousing of an engram or system of engrams from a latent to an active state (as by repetition of the original stimulus or by mnemic excitation)

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

echelle

noun \ā-ˈshel\

Popularity: Bottom 10% of words

Definition of echelle

:  a diffraction grating made by ruling a plane metallic mirror with lines having a relatively wide spacing

Origin and Etymology of echelle

French, literally, ladder, from Old French eschele

First Known Use: 1949

Kelley Heckart

Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.

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Weird Word Wednesday

ecesis

noun  ece·sis \i-ˈsē-səs, -ˈkē-\

Popularity: Bottom 30% of words

 Definition of ecesis

:  the establishment of a plant or animal in a new habitat

Origin and Etymology of ecesis

New Latin, from Greek oikēsis inhabitation, from oikein to inhabit — more at ecumenical

First Known Use: circa 1904

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

Ebullience

noun  ebul·lience \i-ˈbu̇l-yən(t)s, -ˈbəl-\

Popularity: Bottom 40% of words

Definition of ebullience

:  the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings :  exuberance

1749

First Known Use of ebullience

1749

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

dybbuk

noun  dyb·buk \ˈdi-bək\

Popularity: Bottom 20% of words

Definition of dybbuk

plural dybbukimplay \ˌdi-bu̇-ˈkēm\ also dybbuks

:  a wandering soul believed in Jewish folklore to enter and control a living body until exorcised by a religious rite

Related to dybbuk

Origin and Etymology of dybbuk

Yiddish dibek, from Late Hebrew dibbūq

First Known Use: circa 1903

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

dyad

noun  dy·ad \ˈdī-ˌad, -əd\

Popularity: Bottom 50% of words

Examples: dyad in a sentence

Definition of dyad

1

:  pair; specifically, sociology :  two individuals (as husband and wife) maintaining a sociologically significant relationship

2

genetics :  a meiotic chromosome after separation of the two homologous (see homologous 1a(2)) members of a tetrad

3

mathematics :  an operator (see operator 3a) indicated by writing the symbols of two vectors (see 1vector 1a) without a dot or cross between (as AB)

dyadicplay \dī-ˈa-dik\ adjective

dyadicallyplay \-di-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of dyad in a sentence

Origin and Etymology of dyad

Late Latin dyad-, dyas, from Greek, from dyo —see dy-

First Known Use: 1675

Kelley Heckart

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Weird Word Wednesday

dweeb

noun \ˈdwēb\

Popularity: Bottom 50% of words

Definition of dweeb

slang

:  an unattractive, insignificant, or inept person

dweebishplay \ˈdwē-bish\ adjective, slang

dweebyplay \-bē\ adjective, slang

See dweeb defined for English-language learners

Origin and Etymology of dweeb

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1964

Kelley Heckart

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