This week’s obscure English word is declinatory. It means denying jurisdiction. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021

This week’s obscure English word is comportment. With an o, not an a. It’s related to ‘deportment’ and derives from old French, and it refers to the way people move, implicitly indicating they have higher social status. It is, of course, obsolete in modern times, but comporting oneself properly – thus revealing superior social status … More The obscure word of the week is comportment

This week’s obscure English word is spinet. It means a smaller version of an instrument such as a harpsichord or piano. I actually learned piano on a Danemann 3’6″ upright, technically a spinet. But the term had already largely fallen out of use by then. Today it’s hardly used at all, partly because acoustic keyboard … More The obscure word of the week is spinet

This week’s obscure English word is bursicle. It means a pouched receptable, like a purse. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021

This week’s obscure English word is handelian. It means something relating to, or similar to, the music of the great composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Do you have ‘Zadok the Priest’ going through your head now? No? You will in a moment. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. … More The obscure word of the week is handelian

This week’s obscure English word is peniaphobia. And as you’ve probably already guessed, it’s the irrational fear of poverty. It’s derived from the ancient Greek word ‘penia’ (poor). Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021

I’ve been running this obscure word of the week column for a while – and there is no danger of it running out. I am fully armed with the entire 11-volume 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary – in its 1970 ‘small print’ edition, and the entire Webster’s Third New International. Be afraid. Be … More The obscure word of the week isn’t always in the dictionary

This week’s obscure English word is gravid. It’s a somewhat archaic term meaning pregnant, sometimes used in the sense of ‘portentous’. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021

This week’s obscure English word is exody. It’s from ancient Greek and means ‘the journey out’. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021