Ready to increase your vocabulary with some words you won’t hear every day? I’ve got some good ones for you — all beginning with I, J, and K.
I
iatrarchy – noun – You have heard of matriarchy, hierarchy, and monarchy. Well, iatrarchy is a government run by physicians. Good idea or no?? Don’t get this one confused with kakistrocracy, which is a “government run by the worst people.” I guess you need to figure out for yourself who those people are.
iceblink – noun – Glare in the sky caused by light reflected off the ice. There really is a word for that!
iconomania – noun – Obsession with icons. Stay away from that computer desktop!
idempotent – noun – A quantity that doesn’t change when squared. Now, I’m no mathematician, but I think the number 1 falls into this category.
illutation – noun- Mud bath. Try that one next time you go to the spa!
infucate – verb – To apply cosmetics. I do it every morning! Doesn’t sound very pretty, though, does it?
interciliary – adj. – Between the brows. Guess those with a unibrow don’t have any interciliary space!
ishies – noun – What a cute word for hip joints! If your ishies hurt, you might need them replaced!
izzard – noun – Archaic name for the letter Z.
J
jackanapes – noun – I remember this one from a Shakespeare Insult Sheet I hand out to my students after we finish reading Julius Caesar, so I assume this word was coined by the Bard himself. It means an impudent child or conceited fellow.
janitrix – noun – Well, as it would appear to be, it is a female janitor (related to dominatrix??)
jark – noun – A seal or insignia on a counterfeit document. Who would have thought there would even be a name for that!
jawhole – noun – A sewer entrance. Makes sense, I guess.
jazzetry – noun – What a nice-sounding word! It is poetry read to a jazz accompaniment.
jocko – noun – A chimpanzee.
jugulate – verb – To slit the throat. I guess you do this after you defenestrate!
K
kakidrosis – noun – Well, you have heard of halitosis! This one is the same, but the whole body!
kalon – noun – Beauty that is more than skin deep. And we all want that!
kalopsiathe – noun – The delusion that things are more beautiful than they really are. Kalo must be a root that means beauty.
kalology – noun – The study of (logy), guess what? You got it!
keister – noun – A burglar’s took kit… Hmmmm… I thought it meant something else!
kenophobia – noun – Fear of empty spaces.
(empty space)
kephalonomancy – noun – Ready? Divination using a baked ass’s head. Hey, I didn’t make it up!
kickie-wickie – noun – Another of Shakespeare’s originals. It means wife, and is apparently not a valid word in Scrabble! Careful! Don’t get it confused with the next word!!
kickshaws – noun – A cheap worthless article, trinket.
kumiss – noun – fermented mare’s milk (yummy)
kyriolexy – noun – The use of literal expressions.
Feeling smarter now???
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I like the collection of your words, but I wish you would “guess” a little less about its etymology, as it is sometimes plainly wrong.
Jackanapes derives from Jack of Naples and was used already early 15th century as a derogative. A little research on jthe internet gives several websites giving the origin.
Light writing is fun, but you sometimes mislead with your assumptions and people tend to believe what they are reading….
Thank you for clearing that up. However, Shakespeare did use the word, I believe — unless my sheet is incorrect. (quite possible)
This was a fun post. My shoulder ishies are giving me trouble. It’s almost like I have shoulder issues. I can’t wait to tell my doctor next check-up. Thanks for the laughs.
Take care of your ishies!
One of my favorites in this segment of the alphabet:
Kleptocracy – government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain an the expense of the governed; also a particular government of this kind
–Kleptocrat – noun
–kleptocratic – adjective
(from Merriam-Webster)
I first encountered this word in Forbes magazine when it was used to describe their impression of the Russian government after the fall of communism. It was claimed that officials in charge of several major (Russian) industries “privatized” them … mostly into their own pockets. (I leave it to history to judge the validity.)
Kalology? As the “study of ‘kalo’,” I find a meaning of kalo as the Hawaiian creation myth associated with a plant that’s commonly called taro or taro root. KALO is also the call letters of a radio station in (where else?) Hawaii.
However, kalology is the study of beauty, which is an interesting detour from the taro root.
Pete – Thank you for the contribution! Your comments are always fantastic and welcomed — and I always learn something!
Aloha Pete – I would have written the definition of Kalo slightly differently: Kalo is the Hawaiian word for the Taro plant, a plant of such importance to Hawaiian culture that it has a starring role in the creation chant. According to http://www.canoeplants.com , a Kumulipo (creation chant) tells us that kalo grew from the stillborn body of the first-born son of Wakea (sky-father) and Papa (earth-mother). Taro root is the ingredient from which poi is made. But I digress….
Kumulipo is a chant of the Hawaiian creation story, while Kalo is the taro plant.
I’m not even sure what the NAME of the creation story is itself. I’m a California girl living half-time in Hawai’i and it’s taken me eight years to even grasp THIS much of Hawaiian culture. It’s an amazingly beautiful and complicated culture, history, and people!
Julie
I love to start stimulating conversations about words! Thank you for the input!
Julie,
Thanks for the clarification. Indeed, Hawaii has a fascinating culture from its Polynesian roots. I learned just a bit about it from one of the books I typeset: a short memoir by George Kahumoku, Jr., (with Paul Konwiser) titled A Hawaiian Life. George Kahumoku, Jr., is “one of Hawaii’s best loved musicians” (according to the back cover). The book was produced for sale during a concert tour in the U.S. I note that it is still available on Amazon.