Overmorrow refers to the day after tomorrow and I feel like it comes in quite handy for example.
ereyesterday is the day before yesterday. as a german i am used to refer to two days in the past and future without useing weekdays.
Sesquipedalian: A user of big words
I like that saying sesquipedalian makes you sesquipedalian.
This is my favourite too. I have a very sesquipedalian friend, and I had the honour of introducing him to the word.
“Overmorrow” is actually not obscure or obsolete at all in german.
“Übermorgen” is quite often used (at least around me)Übermorgen is the name of my heavy metal band
Wait overmorrow is correct English? We have “morgen” and “overmorgen” in Dutch which is tomorrow and overmorrow respectively, so I always missed an overmorrow in English. Is it actually commonly understood or will people look at me like I’m a weird foreigner when I use it?
defenestrate.
Not a word, but there’s a specific phrase uttered when you casually pass by someone working, stop for a chat, and then genuinely wish them well with their work as you leave.
This phrase does not exist in English:
- “Break a leg” is close, but more reserved for some grand performance
Nor does it exist in German:
- “Viel Spass/Glück” (Have fun, Good Luck) is also close, but has an element of sarcasm and/or success through chance.
- (Edit) “Frohes Schaffen” (Happy ‘getting it done’) is pretty spot on.
In Turkish, you just say “Kolay Gelsin”, meaning “May the work come easy so that you finish sooner”.
Its such a useful unjudgemental phrase, easily uttered, that I’ve seen nowhere else. Maybe other languages have it too.
I use “have fun” completely unironically all the time. One time my partner’s (Pakistani) carer thought I spoke Arabic because Afwan is apparently an Arabic salutation meaning approximately the same as “cheerio”, “goodbye”, or “you’re welcome” in English. He also turns up around half one every day for added amusement
“Break a leg” is close, but more reserved for some grand performance
So in Estonian we have a bunch of those I don’t remember because nobody uses them anymore. But the main one everyone knows is “Kivi kotti” (literally, stone/rock in your bag, but much like with “break a leg”, you actually wish them well). It’s still basically “good luck” but not so much for grand performances, it could just be for your first day of work, or going fishing (the real origin I guess). There’s also “Nael kummi” which is “nail in your tire”, which is reserved for people driving somewhere.
Doesn’t exist in German? What about “Frohes Schaffen”?
(I’ve literally never heard that said once, but it qualifies, so I’ll add it)
Reminds me of a much abbreviated version of this Irish prayer:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Exactly this kind of sentiment. Beautiful poem.
“May the odds be ever in your favor” works in almost any situation!
Would “Have a good one” maybe serve that purpose? It’s not exactly the same, but similar sentiment.
Very true! At the same time, I feel like you would only say that to something that will happen and not something that is currently happening. Is that right?
Yeah, I’d say so. Maybe something like “Take it easy” would fit better.
“… and if that don’t work, take it sleazy.”
“I would say ‘don;t do anything I wouldn’t do’, but that doesn’t rule out much”
Dutch: ‘Werk ze’
“Good luck with/have fun with that!” In a pleasant tone while gesturing towards the act being done is enough, I’ve found
Unless it’s clearly like, WORK, work, then something like “don’t work too hard, there!” Is common
The tone of it is the same, but there’s also a sarcastic interpretation of it though, and it can be applied liberally to lots of non-work situations
I say “good luck” in a non-sarcastic tone to people whenever they head off on some banal errand. It gets some confused looks sometimes, laughs others.
I will steal that one!
It’s German but ‘Rucksackriemenquerverbindungsträger’, the thing between the straps of a backpack that you can connect to lighten the load on your shoulders.
I made the word up but I use it pretty often.
Well … I knew exactly what you meant, as you know what I mean when I say: “Rucksackriemenquerverbindsungsträgerersatzschnalle” and I think it’s beautiful.
Also: “Getriebeschmiernippel”
The chest strap?
Yes
fuck germany
That’s a lot of people, I doubt you have the stamina
are you saying i won’t do it
I mean, I guess you have the name for it
What did Germany ever do to you?
This is lemmy so they’re probably angry Germany isn’t bombing Israel like Iran
Hysteresis, the lag or delay between doing something and it’s outcome. See also: hysteretic.
It also means path dependency.
I use hysteresis daily… Refrigeration.
I think you meant lag. But this is a good one. One of my favorite words. It seems to be used in technical settings a lot, especially for electricity. I read an article a while back that applied it to social situations I.e. social hysteresis. It applies to so many things its ridiculous.
Two of my favorite:
Why do people still think vaccines cause autism despite the overwhelming evidence against? Social hysteresis.
Why do people think inflation is out of control in the US despite the fact that its been less than 3% for over a year? Social hysteresis. (Also because people want deflation)
On thermostats it’s the difference between the off and on temperatures - like if you set it to 24 degrees, you could have a hysteresis of 1 degree, meaning it’ll turn on again at 23 degrees. (Or something like that.)
Crepuscular. Related to twilight, dimness, the golden hour.
Gloam/gloaming
The onset of twilight/becoming gloomy
Spotted the Radiohead fan
I’m honestly not sure what you’re referring to. Is that a word they use a lot in their lyrics?
They wrote “Roaming In The Gloaming”, I guess?
Albeit.
My favorite English word… I use it quite often because it fits the German Ductus.
Whom
Sometimes I feel like I’m still the only person who still uses it. I’m teaching my daughter the proper way to use it because the schools aren’t.
I’m always shouting it at movies and TV shows when they use “who” instead.
I’ve got six of them:
- Tittynope: “A small amount left over; a modicum.”
- Cacography: “bad handwriting or spelling.”
- Epeolatry: “the worship of words.”
- Kakistocracy: “a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.”
- Oikophilia: “love of home”
- Tenebrous: “dark; shadowy or obscure”
Feel like tenebrous being on a list of obscure words is tenuous, but maybe I just have esoteric interests.
Unlike many of these I’d heard it before but didn’t know its true meaning. It fits.
Darth Tenebrous
That list is going to send me down a rabbit hole looking for the etymology of words
Kakistocracy: “a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.”
See also kleptocracy: rule by thieves. I not infrequently refer to our government as a kleptocratic kakistocracy
Oh, I also really like Mammonism: “the greedy pursuit of riches”, from the Biblical “Mammon”.
‘Tenebroso’ is commonly used in Spanish, at least in Spain. This whole thread is very interesting.
Voldemort is Señor Tenebroso.
A lot of words in English have a Germanic and Latin version. The Germanic one tends to be more common in everyday use, while the Latin one tends to be more formal, a consequence of French being the language of the aristocracy back in the day. Spanish is all Latin-derived, so they would of course be the everyday words.
Confusing and confused comment.
English indeed belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family i.e. has german it its core structure and basic vocabulary (pronouns, basic verbs, nouns). Also some idiomatic expressions are also rooted in its Germanic heritage.
Latin influence primarily came through old English (Latin via christianity) and middle English when the Normans invaded England. This Latin is mainly in areas like law, governance, religion and literature. It’s estimated that over 60% of modern English vocabulary is derived from Latin, often via French.
Greek is everywhere in the fields of science, medicine, philosophy, and the arts. It makes up a smaller percentage compared to Latin—perhaps around 10% of the English vocabulary, though it forms the basis of many complex and specialized terms.
A modern German speaker might recognize some English words with Germanic roots, but the recognition is often less obvious due to centuries of language evolution.
For Greek speakers, recognizing Greek-derived words in English is significantly easier and straightforward. This is because the words have been adopted verbatim, with barely any transformation. And these words usually fall in the category of more academic, high-level English.
In the parent comment for example, 4 out of 6 words are purely Greek (Cacography, Epeolatry, Kakistocracy, Oikophilia).
I’m a master in Cacography!
“Pardon my cacography” sure has a better ring to it than, “can you read this?”
Petrichor: The smell of rain on dry ground. One of those things everybody knows about but lacks a word for.
Apparently Streptomyces are the cause.
I learned about this in Amsterdam’s Groote Museum today, huh
It’s funny, literally every Doctor Who fan knows this word and what it means thanks to Neil Gaiman.
perambulation is a good one. My morning walk isn’t quite grand enough to be called a ‘constitutional’; nor scenic and leisurely enough to be called a ‘stroll’; nor yet social enough to be called a ‘promenade’; ‘perambulation’ is just the ticket.
And a “perambulator” is a kid stroller. It was an enlightening moment when I first came across that word in Neil Stephenson’s “Seveneves”, delved into its etymology and then realised why my British friend called the stroller a “pram”. This is just a contracted form of perambulator.
It did not occur to me that there’s actually also a verb for it, so thank you for pointing that out! I love it, and I will use it henceforth!
I thought the morning constitutional was taking a shit.
And what a lovely paragraph about it. Thank you.
Oh I love to perambulate, sitting still is what I really hate
