Occasional writers have used a variant of this root to make fanciful nonce-words based on the goat's reputed libidinousness. The Latin word for "he-goat" is hircus, from which we get hircine ("of, relating to, or suggestive of a goat especially: resembling a goat in smell"). It is uncertain where Cockeram found the word, as we have no evidence of actual use prior to 1623, although he may have borrowed it from Thomas Eliot's Latin dictionary of 1538, which defined hirquitalus as "a chylde, whiche passeth the age of xiiii yeres, and begynneth to be styrred with lechery."
Joseph Swetnam, The schoole of the noble and worthy science of defence, 1617ĭefinition: "one past fourteene yeeres of age, beginning to bee moved with Venus delight" (Henry Cockeram, An English Dictionary, 1623)įor those of you who are unaccustomed to reading definitions written in the linguistic register of an early-17th century smarty-pants lexicographer, the meaning of the word above is, well, "horny teenager." This gives us a very fine example of how occasionally the words for common things are themselves quite uncommon, as hirquiticke is extremely rare. Write it down on your arm before you go out tonight.Īgaine, some cowards will so dare and bragge out a man in company, with such swaggering words, whereby the heaters should thinke there were not a better man to be found: and if it be in a Faire or Market, then he will draw his weapons, because he knoweth that he shall be soone parted, for the people will say, that such a one and such a one made a great fray to day, but I account this but pot-valour, or a Cowards fray to fight in the streete, for a man can giue no due commendations of manhood vnto such fighters, for there is no valour in it. Unfortunately, when you are at the point when this word will be most applicable to you, chances are good that you will also be too drunk to remember what it is. The fancy way of saying liquid courage, pot-valor is the perfect word to describe how imbibing a few ounces of something can make a very bad idea seem like something you should definitely do right now. Why, to tell you the truth, Squire Randal, as to the amatorculist, and his vertiginous gilt-piece of mutability, to such I have nothing to say, and with such I have nothing to do.ĭefinition: boldness or courage resulting from alcoholic drink If you are interested in the proper word to describe an insignificant love affair, rather than an insignificant lover, it is amourette. Joseph Wright, in his 1867 Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English defined the word as "A wretched lover or galant," and Nathan Bailey, in his 1736 dictionary, referred to it as "a trifling Sweet-heart, a general Lover." The word is almost entirely unknown outside of dictionaries, and lexicographers seem to take a certain vicious glee in defining it. When one sees how pleased many people are to discover this word, one that finally will serve to provide an accurate description of some past lover, it is clear that amatorculist has not received the attention it deserves. Thanks for off-the-wall (and offbeat) I forgot about them.Definition: "A little insignificant lover a pretender to affection" (Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755) So, other people use it as we do, but it seems to be uncommon (and dated) that makes sense. (colloquial) Characterized by or often saying random things
I stumbled upon this definition in Wiktionary (via a link found in a language log). If not, an accurate phrase (short and contemporary if possible) would be helpful. Is there an adjective to describe one who is apt to say random things (i.e., not a word that just means odd basically)? They just come up with "the weirdest stuff" sometimes or come "out of left field" a lot (so to speak). Therefore, I suppose we're misusing the informal random because the people we're trying to describe are not odd in general (or wonderfully odd like the Luna Lovegood character). That is, we do not use it as defined below (i.e., he/she is "so odd").ĭifferent to what is usual or expected strange. Among friends, we describe a person as "so random" (he/she is so random) if that person says random things (often in group discussions).
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