The h2g2 Word of the Day (Discontinued)
Created | Updated Feb 23, 2005
The h2g2 Word of the Day project has been discontinued, but here's a list of all the words that were picked as words of the day.
The h2g2 Word of the Day List
Agletn. A metal or plastic tube fixed tightly round each end of a shoelace.Antediluvianadj. 1. Of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood.2. (chiefly humorous) Ridiculously old-fashioned.Anthropophagyn. CannibalismBacchanalia 1. n The Roman festival of Bacchus.
2. Drunken revelry.Borborygmusn. A rumbling noise made by fluid and gas in the intestines.Boustrophedonadj. & adv. (Of words) written from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines.Cachinnatev. Laugh loudly and in an unrestrained way.Callipygianadj. Having well-shaped buttocks.Commix v. To blend or mingle.Campanologistn. Someone who studies the art of bell ringing.Cannelure n. The groove which runs around a bullet. Castigatev. Reprimand severely.Casuist n. A person who uses clever but false reasoning. Catachresis n. The incorrect use of a word.Catharsis n. Release of pent up emotions. Cholin. A bodice worn under a sari.Compendiousadj. Presenting the essential facts in a comprehensive but precise way.Concupiscence n. Lust. Crapulentadj. Of or relating to the drinking of alcohol or drunkenness.Crepuscularadj. Of, resembling, or relating to twilight.Curmudgeonn. A bad-tempered or surly person.Darbies n. An archaic and informal word for handcuffs.Defenestrationn. The action of throwing someone out of a window.Diaspora n. Widely spread group or race of people. Dipterist n. Someone who collects flies.Discombobulate v. Disconcert or confuse. Dolour n. A state of immense sorrow.Dystocia n. Having difficulty giving birth. Epistaxis n. A nose bleed.Epistemologyn. The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity and scope.Eruditeadj. Having or showing knowledge or learning.Escadrille n. A squadron in the French Airforce.Escutcheonn. 1. A shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.
2. A flat piece of metal framing a keyhole, door handle or light switch.Etiolated adj. (Of a plant) pale and and weak due to lack of light.Exeat n. Permission to leave school.Execrableadj. Extremely bad or unpleasant.Expectorate v. To cough up or spit phlegm. Feckless adj. Ineffectual, irresponsible or feeble. Ferrule n. The tip of an umbrella, stick, handle or tube. Feu de joie n. A rifle salute used for joyous occasions. Forsooth adv. Indeed. Freebootern. A lawless adventurer.Fructuous adj. Full or producing a lot of fruit. Furbelow n. The trimming on a skirt or petticoat. Frowardadj. (Of a person) difficult to deal with; contraryFrowstn. A warm stuffy atmosphere in a room. v. Lounge about in such an atmosphere.Frugal adj. Meagre and sparing. Fulminatev. 1. Express vehement protest. 2. Explode violently or flash like lightning.Furbelow n. The trimming on a skirt or petticoat. Fusiform adj. Tapering at both ends. Gadzooks An exclamation of annoyance or surprise.Glypticadj. Of or concerning carving or engraving.Gnamman. A natural hole in a rock that collects rainwater.Googolplex n. Ten raised to the power of a googol (which is ten to the power of a hundred). Grandiloquentadj. Pompous or extravagant in language, style or manner.Gruntledadj. Pleased, satisfied (back-form from disgruntled).Guerdonn. A reward or compensation.Habergeonn. A sleeveless coat or chain tunic.Haboobn. A violent summer desert wind.Hagiolatryn. The worship of saints.Happi n. A coat from Japan.Harbingern. Something or someone which brings news or information of an event or person.Hayride n. A trip in a hay wagon.Helical adj. Having the shape or form of a helix; spiral. Hellaciousadj. 1. Very great, bad, or overwhelming (N. Amer. informal)Hellion n. A mischievous or unrestrainable person, esp. a youth. Henotheism n. The preference of one god over another.Hijran. A transvestite or eunuch.Histrionicadj. 1. Overly theatrical or melodramatic. 2. (formal) Of or concerning actors or acting.
Histrionics n. Exaggerated dramatic behaviour designed to attract attentionHomunculusn. [pl. Homunculi.] Little man, manikin.Hornswogglev. To win by cheating or deception.Humic adj. Relating to humus. Huntaway n. A dog trained to drive sheep forward.Iconoclast n. A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions. Imprecationn. A spoken curse. (Imprecatory adj.)Jorum n. A large serving bowl or dish for drinks.Juvenilian. Works produced by an author or artist when young.Kerf n. 1. A slit made by cutting with a saw.
2. The cut end of a felled tree. Kipsie n. Improvised dwelling or shelter. Kismetn. Destiny; fate.Lacunan. A gap or missing entity.Lagann. archaic (In legal contexts) goods or wreckage lying on the bed of the sea.Lallation n. The pronunciation of 'r' as 'l'. Leat n. An outdoor watercourse leading to a mill.Leitmotif n. A rucurring note or theme in literature or music.Lekker adj. Good or pleasant. Ligneousadj. Made, consisting of, or resembling wood.Liliaceous adj. Of or relating to the lily. Logorrhoean. A tendency to be talkative.Machiavellian adj. Cunning, scheming and unscrupulous, especially in politics or business. Malefic adj. Harmful.Maquillagen. Make-up, cosmetics.Merkinn. An artificial covering of hair for the pubic area.Mimsy adj. Feeble, prim and proper. Monégasque adj. Someone or something from the principality of Monaco, France.Mordantadj. (Especially of humour) Sharp or critical; biting.
n. A substance that combines with a dye or stain and thereby fixes it in a material. An adhesive compound for fixing gold leaf. A corrosive liquid used to etch the lines on a printing plate.
v. Impregnate or treat (a fabric) with a mordant.Musette n. A small French bagpipe. Naiant n. In heraldry, this is any marine animal that is swimming horizontally.Napiforma. Turnip-shaped; large and round in the upper part, and very slender below.Nariyal n. An Indian term for a coconut. Nativism n.Theory that suggests ways of thinking are innate rather than learned.Nimbyn. A person who objects to the siting of unpleasant developments in their neighbourhood. Nonage n. The age of immaturity. Nyctophobia n. Irrational fear of the dark. Obdurateadj. Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.Obsequiousadj. Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree. Oenophile n. a wine connoisseur. Ogham n. An ancient British and Celtic alphabet consisting of twenty characters. Ohnosecond n. The moment when you realize that you've made a mistake. Omophagy n. The eating of raw food, especially raw meat. Oojamaflipn. informalSomething that one cannot or does not want to name.Opprobrious adj. Highly scornful. Paralipomenon n. A thing omitted from a work and added as a supplement. Parlous adj. Full of uncertainty. Paschaladj. Relating to Easter or Passover.Pediculosis n. Lice infestation. Pellucid adj. Translucently clear or easily understood. Perfunctoryadj. Carried out with a minimum of effort or reflectionPerorate v. To wind up a speech.Persiflagen. Light mockery or banter.Phantasmagoria n. A series of images similar to a dream.Pightle n. A small field or pen.Pintle n. Pin or bolt on which a rudder turns.Polyporen. A fungus that spreads its spores from its underside. Portolan n. A sailing book of directions, charts and harbours. Positivism n. The belief whereby anything that can be proved either mathematically or scientifically, must be either hidden within the meaning of the sentence already or empirically demonstrable.Potage n. A very thick soup or broth. Praepostor n. A school prefect or monitor. Preprandialadj. Done or taken before dinner.Priapic adj. Phallic or having a constantly erect penis. Propinquity n. Proximity or close friendship. Pulchritudinousadj. Beautiful.Purloin v. To steal. Pusillanimousadj. Timid.Pyknicn. Relating to or denoting a stocky physique with a rounded body and head, thickset trunk and a tendency to fat.Quadrageneriann. A person who is between 40 and 49 years old.Quintuplicateadj. 1. Fivefold
2. Of which five copies are made.
v. Multiply by five.Rapscallion n. A naughty person. Recondite adj. obscure or hidden from view. Reliquary n. A room used for the storage of relics. Remiges n. The feathers that enable birds to fly. Rhabdomancy n. Dowsing with a rod or stick. Rheum n. The watery liquid that drips from your nose or eyes.Rimy adj. (poetic/literary) Frosty.Rumbustious adj. Boisterous. Rum-tum n. A craft sculling on the lower reaches of the Thames, London, UK.Samizdat n. The clandestine copying and distribution of literature banned by the state, especially formerly in the communist countries of Eastern Europe.Sangfroid n. Composure or coolness under trying circumstances. Sanguinaryadj. Involving or causing much bloodshed.Saprotrophicadj. biologyFeeding on decaying matterSaturnine adj. 1. Gloomy, dark and brooding.
2. Of or relating to lead. Schadenfreude n. Enjoying another's misfortune. Scunner n. A loathing or strong dislike. Sententious adj. Given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner. Serendipity n. The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. Sesquipedalianadj. 1. (of a word) Polysyllabic; long.
2. Characterized by long words; long-winded.Shaveling n. A clergyman or priest with a tonsured head. Sippetn. Bread used to dunk in soup or broth.SkerrySqueegeen. A scraping implement with a rubber-edged blade. n. (Scottish) A rocky island. Sniggle v. To fish for eels with a baited hook. Solipsismn. The view that the self is all that can be known to existSprauncy adj. Cheerful or smart. Swarf n. Fine chips or fillings produced by machining.Syzygy n. conjunction or opposition - especially of the moon and sun.Toey adj. nervous or agitated. Tenesmusn. A continual desire/inclination to evacuate the bowels.Tessellate v. To divide in to squares or checks. To mosaic a floor. Tintinnabulation n. A ringing or tinkling sound.Tmesis n. The placing of one word inside another. Travailn. Painful, heavy-duty work.Triskaidekaphobian. Extreme superstition regarding the number thirteen.Tziganen. A Hungarian gypsy. Ubietyadj. poetic. The condition of being in a definite place. Ubiquitous adj. Present, appearing, or found everywhere. Velleityn. A wish or or inclination not strong enough to lead to action.Verminate v. To breed or become infested with vermin. Vicissituden. 1. A change in circumstances or fortune, typically for the worse.
2. (poetic/literary) Alternation between opposite or contrasting things.Vituperation n. Bitter and abusive language.Wassailn. Lively festivities involviving the drinking of excessive alcohol.Whim-whamn. A decorative item that has no real function.Wunderkindn. A person who achieves great success when relatively young.Xenogamyn. Cross fertilisation.Xylem n. The fibre in plants that carries water and nutrients from the root. Zeitgeistn. The defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history.Zugzwang n. A move in chess that forces your opponent to move to their disadvantage. Zymurgy n. The study or practice of fermentation in brewing, winemaking, or distilling.
