Vocabulary Lesson #5: Once and Only Once
Honorificabilitudinitatibus: Word appearing in the final act of Love's Labor's Lost. It is apparently the ablative plural of medieval Latin "honorificabilitudinitas," meaning "the state of being able to achieve honors." The word itself dates as far back as the early 12th century, before anyone in the medieval world was writing in the vernacular. I saw Love's Labor's Lost at the Arb last summer. It was a lot of fun.
Hapax Legomenon: A word appearing only once in the written record of a language--which seems impossible unless you apply time constraints: once I repeat a certain word and say it's a hapax legomenon, it ceases to be one. Anydangway, Hapax Legomenon also refers to any word which appears only once in the canon of an author, such as the above honorificabilitudinitatibus, which appears only once in the entirety of Shakespeare's works. Had the word appeared twice it would have been called a dis legomenon and a tris and tetrakis legomenon for three and four, respectively. After that, well, it stops mattering.
Wadmal: A coarse, woolen cloth, in England used principally for covering horse collars and in Orkney, Shetland and Scandinavia for warm blankets, etc. This definition was copied verbatim out of The Shorter Oxford and as I can't see my way toward ever actually having occasion to use it ever again, when future academians unearth my papers and my LJ entries, it will be the Hapax Legomenon of my works. Probably one of many.
And with that, a list of hapax legomena, copy-pasted from wikipedia:
"Nortelrye," a word for "education" found once -- and only once -- in Chaucer.
"Autoguos" (αυτογυος), an ancient Greek word for a sort of plough, which is found once (and exclusively) in Hesiod, the precise meaning remaining obscure.
"Panaorios" (παναωριος), ancient Greek for "very untimely", one of many hapax legomena found in the Iliad.
"Flother," a synonym for snowflake is a hapax legomenon of written English pre-1900 found in a manuscript from around 1275.
"Gvina" (גבינה-cheese): is a hapax legomenon of Biblical Hebrew found in Job 10:10. The word has been extremely common in Hebrew since its appearance in the Bible.
"Wimble," a word that appears in James Joyce's Ulysses (U 7.1071) and which Joyce told Stuart Gilbert was an hapax legomenon. The Oxford English Dictionary lists a Yorkshire-Lancashire dialect usage of wimble as "active, nimble" but the sense that Joyce seems to intend is "giddy, confused".
Hapax Legomenon: A word appearing only once in the written record of a language--which seems impossible unless you apply time constraints: once I repeat a certain word and say it's a hapax legomenon, it ceases to be one. Anydangway, Hapax Legomenon also refers to any word which appears only once in the canon of an author, such as the above honorificabilitudinitatibus, which appears only once in the entirety of Shakespeare's works. Had the word appeared twice it would have been called a dis legomenon and a tris and tetrakis legomenon for three and four, respectively. After that, well, it stops mattering.
Wadmal: A coarse, woolen cloth, in England used principally for covering horse collars and in Orkney, Shetland and Scandinavia for warm blankets, etc. This definition was copied verbatim out of The Shorter Oxford and as I can't see my way toward ever actually having occasion to use it ever again, when future academians unearth my papers and my LJ entries, it will be the Hapax Legomenon of my works. Probably one of many.
And with that, a list of hapax legomena, copy-pasted from wikipedia:
"Nortelrye," a word for "education" found once -- and only once -- in Chaucer.
"Autoguos" (αυτογυος), an ancient Greek word for a sort of plough, which is found once (and exclusively) in Hesiod, the precise meaning remaining obscure.
"Panaorios" (παναωριος), ancient Greek for "very untimely", one of many hapax legomena found in the Iliad.
"Flother," a synonym for snowflake is a hapax legomenon of written English pre-1900 found in a manuscript from around 1275.
"Gvina" (גבינה-cheese): is a hapax legomenon of Biblical Hebrew found in Job 10:10. The word has been extremely common in Hebrew since its appearance in the Bible.
"Wimble," a word that appears in James Joyce's Ulysses (U 7.1071) and which Joyce told Stuart Gilbert was an hapax legomenon. The Oxford English Dictionary lists a Yorkshire-Lancashire dialect usage of wimble as "active, nimble" but the sense that Joyce seems to intend is "giddy, confused".