A month ago I listed 10 words that were new to me and, I would guess, unknown to most English speakers. They are words we seem to manage very well without, yet I am delighted that they exist. Here are 10 more such words, also found in Barbara Ann Kipfer's Word Nerd.
admarginate: to note in the margin
agerasia: looking young for your age or not appearing to age
begrutten: having a face swollen from weeping
extraforaneous: outdoor
ginnel: a long narrow passage between houses
gnurr: the substance that collects over time in the bottoms of pockets or cuffs of trousers
kippage: commotion or confusion
kirkbuzzer: someone who robs churches
paraffle: an ostentatious display or flourish
warth: a shore of stretch of coast
Some of these words, especially begrutten and kippage, could easily be used by any of us in speech or in writing. No doubt William F. Buckley Jr. knew them and used them. The problem for most of us, however, is that if we used them, chances are nobody would know what we were talking about. The purpose of language, after all, is to communicate, not to impress. So these perfectly good words go mostly unused.
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