cephalgia, encephalalgia – Cephalgia and encephalalgia are medical terms for a headache. More…
megrim – Another word for a headache, especially a migraine. More…
shivaree – A mock serenade, it originally meant “headache” in its Latin form. More…
neurasthenia – A disorder characterized by loss of energy, lack of motivation, and feelings of inadequacy, along with vague physical symptoms such as headache or muscle pain. More…
A-OK – Astronauts on the Mercury Project in 1961 popularized A-OK, meaning “excellent, perfect”; it was coined by blending the adjective “A,” as in A-one or A1, meaning “first-class,” with “OK.” More…
palinoia – The compulsive repetition of an act until it is perfect. More…
parfait – Literally French for “perfect.” More…
perfect binding – A book bound by gluing instead of sewing. More…
riposte – A counterstroke, such as a snappy retort, from Italian riposta, “reply, response.” More…
antapology – The reply to an apology, such as “That’s all right.” More…
irrespondence – People not answering your e-mails? That’s irrespondence! (Failure to reply.) More…
all of a sudden – Is the grammatically correct version; do not say “all of the sudden.” More…
coup de main – A sudden and unexpected movement or attack. More…
sudden – From Latin sub-, “up to,” and ire, “come, go,” making subitus, “come or go up stealthily.” More…
vicissitude – A sudden or unexpected change in life. More…
phoneme – A word for a hallucination in which voices are heard. More…
pig’s whisper – A loud whisper, meant to be heard. More…
noises off – Sounds created offstage to be heard during a play’s production; the term has been extended to mean distracting or intrusive background noise. More…
pink noise – Random white noise that has been adjusted so there is equal energy per octave and an equal amount of each signal can be heard. More…
lect – A regional or social variety within a language, a form of speech defined by a homogenous set of rules. More…
precisian – An overly precise person, a strict observer of rules and procedures. More…
ring – Boxing started off in circles, and when the Marquess of Queensbury introduced a set of rules in 1867, he also introduced the roped-off square, which continued to be called the “ring.” More…
mistress – First meant “a woman who rules or has control,” or a “woman who employs others, as servants.” More…
community – It can refer to group of animals or plants living together and was first used to refer to a “body of commons” or a social or political entity. More…
party – Latin partitum, “part, side,” became party, with the senses “political group” and, in the 18th century, “social gathering.” More…
mores, anomie – Mores is the Latin plural of mor/mos and means “acquired customs and manners”; social and moral conventions are mores, and the lack of these is anomie. More…
sociable, social, society – Sociable, social, society, etc. originate in Latin socius, “companion, fellow,” or “colleague.” More…
soughing – A soft rustling or murmuring sound—like the deep sigh of a sleeping baby. More…
frou-frou – From French for “a rustling.” More…
murmur – Comes from the Latin word for “rustling,” and can mean “complain, grumble about.” More…
psithurism – The sound of wind in the trees and rustling of leaves. More…
chintz – Comes from the plural of Hindi chint, a printed Indian calico, from earlier Sanskrit chitra, “variegated.” More…
moire – Having a variegated or clouded appearance, like that of watered silk. More…
variegated – Can mean “having variety in character, form, etc.” More…
vary – From Latin varius, “speckled, variegated; changeable.” More…