Weird and Wonderful Words Finale: Z End

Zowie! Who knew there were so many fascinating words beginning with the letter Z?? You will love some of these!

zabaglione – a frothy dessert or sauce made of eggs, sugar, and Marsala wine

zaddick – In Judaism, a righteous man

zaftig – having a full, rounded figure

zag – a sharp angle that helps to form a zigzag pattern, when alternated with a zig!

zakuska  hors d’oeuvre; snack

zalambdodont – having molar teeth with V-shaped ridges  (I didn’t make it up!)

zany – a silly or foolish person (Don’t you always use zany as an adjective???)

zapata – flowing, drooping moustache

zappy –  lively; entertaining

zarf – ornamental holder for hot coffee cup

zatch – female genitalia (hmmmm….)

zazzy – flashy; stylish

zebrine – offspring of male horse and female zebra

zein – white, colorless, odorless protein extracted from corn and used in plastics, paints, etc.

zebu – ox with hump and dewlap

zegedine – silver drinking cup

zek – inmate of prison labor camp

zelatrix – older nun in charge of disciplining younger nuns

zelator – sister in a convent in charge of checking on conduct of other nuns

zemni – blind mole-rat (Yes, there is such a condition as zemmiphobia – fear of the great mole rat)

zenzic – square of a number

zenzizenzizenzic – eighth power of a number – This HAS to be my favorite!

zeroable – able to be omitted from a sentence without any loss of meaning (to the subject or verb, for example!)

zep – large sandwich made on a long crusty roll (like Subway?)

zeugma – figure of speech in which a single word, usually an adjective or a verb, is syntactically related to two or more words, through having a different sense in relation to each: The cake was good, but his attitude wasn’t. (?????)

zho – cross between a yak and a cow

zitella  – young girl; maiden (No, not a small zit!)

zizel – chipmunk

zimocca – bath-sponge

zizz – sparkle; vim

zoanthropy – delusion that one is an animal (very interesting!)

zoiatrics – veterinary surgery

zol – hand-rolled cannabis cigarette

zomotherapy – medical treatment using raw meat (Oh, is THAT what Lady Gaga was doing?)

zoodikers – an exclamation

zooid – an animal organism produced by other than sexual methods

zoothapsis – premature burial

zori – a Japanese sandal style

zowie! – an interjection!

zuchetto –  skullcap worn by Roman Catholic prelates (No, not a small zucchini)

zugzwang – chess blockade

zymurgy – branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation

zyzzyva – South American weevil (If you ever find a Scrabble game with three zzz’s, you are all set!)

Next week – Back to grammar! Hope you have enjoyed this series!