| Infinite Summer http://infinitesummer.org/forums/ |
|
| What are your favorite words from IJ? http://infinitesummer.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=485 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | M. Psychosis [ Wed Sep 02, 2009 5:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | What are your favorite words from IJ? |
DFW has a fabulous vocabulary. I started keeping a list of my favorite new words from the novel. Here are a few. homodont - only having one kind of tooth. I didn't even know this was possible, much less that there was a word for it. figurant - 1. A member of a corps de ballet who does not perform solos. 2. A stage performer having no speaking part. pedalferrous - So obscure that it does not appear in any online dictionary, but this is what I could piece together. It is related, I think, to pedalfer which means soil that is characterized by an abundance of aluminum and iron oxides. Pedalfers are common in humid regions and are deposited in the B horizon of ABC soils, through leaching. And a comment I found posted two years ago on Wordie says it is an adjectival form of the noun pedalfer, used within Infinite Jest antonymically in relation to denuded and fallow. annular - ring-shaped. Knew this word already, but now it is a part of my everyday vocabulary instead of being a strictly special occasion kind of word. What are your favorites? I wish I had written down more, but since I didn't, I will steal some of yours! |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ] |
| Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|