Rare Words

Belabour (verb) be-lay-bor Attack (someone) physically or verbally./Argue or discuss (a subject) in excessive detail.…

Pasquant (adj) pas-kwant (heraldry) Of deer, cattle, etc.: represented as grazing. Early 19th century; earliest…

Caliginous (adj) kal-ij-in-us Dark, dim, or misty. Mid 16th-century from Latin caliginosus ‘misty’, from caligo,…

Disembogue (verb) dis-em-bowg (of a river or stream) emerge or be discharged into the sea…

Pignorate (verb) pig-no-rayt (rare) (historic) To give or take as a pledge; to pawn. Early…

Gamomania (noun) gam-o-may-nee-a (rare) Obsession with marriage. Mid 19th century; earliest use found in British…

Canorous (adj) kan-or-us (rare) (of song or speech) melodious or resonant. Mid 17th century from…

Gamin (noun) Ga-min (dated) A street urchin. Mid 19th century French, originally an eastern dialect…

Nostrification (noun) nos-trif-ik-ay-shun (rare) With reference to (especially central) European universities: the action or process…