Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Abrosia


Abrosia: This is a strange word because it sounds too much like ambrosia – the name given to the supposed food and drink of the gods or absolutely heavenly food for mortals. But abrosia would be torture for someone expecting ambrosia, because abrosia means fasting or not consuming any food.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Lamprophony


Lamprophony (noun): Clear enunciation

There's no trace of lamps, pros, or phonies in this word's definition.  If you know that -phony means sound, you might guess that lamprophony is the sound of lampreys.  (Do they even make noise?) But no, lamprophony turns out to be a rather boring word that means clear enunciation.  (The Greek root lampro- means clear or distinct.)