Word Game: Language-Related Clues and Lingustic Q&A

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The discussion revolves around a word-guessing game focused on language and etymology. Participants take turns thinking of language-related words and providing clues for others to guess. The game encourages engagement with linguistic concepts and offers resources for etymology and language exploration. Clues often involve historical or obscure references, leading to discussions about word origins and meanings. Participants share insights on various words, including their roots and connections to different languages, while also addressing challenges in guessing. The conversation highlights the enjoyment of exploring language intricacies and the community's enthusiasm for linguistic topics.
  • #121
Correct prefix.
The coiner also used the term 'instress' to describe how this impluse escapes from the things of the landscape.
 
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  • #122
fi said:
This word is derived from 2 O.E. words. The meaning of the word created is about entry to the meaning of things created.

"-spiration" is not O.E.; it is of latin origin ("Dum spiro spero").
 
  • #123
would anyone care to take the next turn?
Maybe there are no great Gerard Manley Hopkins fans here, or maybe no great fans of bad clues!:smile:
The word he coined was 'inscape'.
 
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  • #124
If no one else is going...

Originally from latin words meaning a member of a lower class, this word now means quite the opposite.
 
  • #125
proletariat?
I'm never sure of its meaning usually, nor its spelling!
 
  • #126
Nope. The word isn't a direct opposite of lower class, but rather something relating to the opposite, usually with negative connotations.
 
  • #127
are you thinking of hoi polloi? That's Greek, not Latin, and its literal meaning is the people - the masses, as it were. But it's sometimes used today to refer to snooty upper classes. Not by anybody who knows any Greek, though.
 
  • #128
Nope, that's not it either.
 
  • #129
clique, mayhap? Or clientele?
 
  • #130
Nope.
When adopted into English, the word first meant a member of the lower class who aspires to be a member of a higher class.
 
  • #131
Was the original word "upstartius"?? :confused:
 
  • #132
How about aspirant?
 
  • #133
Nope. The original latin was sine nobilitate.
 
  • #134
ignoble - darn
 
  • #135
Nope. The word is an abbreviation of the original latin.
 
  • #136
got to be "snob"
 
  • #137
Bingo. (I hoped someone would get it there. I'd ran out of clues!)
 
  • #138
This is an old weapon with a name derived from a stinky French word.
 
  • #139
Used for breaching gates and doors.
 
  • #140
A Ram, or battering ram?
 
  • #141
turbo-1 said:
This is an old weapon with a name derived from a stinky French word.


Petard, an ancestor of the satchel charge. The engineer in Shakespeare who was "hoist with his own petard" was not raised gently; he was blown up. Petard means "fart" in French.
 
  • #142
Good job, selfAdjoint! I should have known that someone here would have been fascinated enough with that Hamlet quote to look it up. Give us your best.
 
  • #143
A nice little detour for you word-hounds...Mel Brooks wrote (and took) the character "Governor Le Petomane" for the incomparable movie Blazing Saddles. You might want to Google "Le Petomane" to see why. The guy was out-drawing Europe's biggest stars in the late 19th/early 20th C.
 
  • #144
selfAdjoint said:
Petard means "fart" in French.

Petard does not mean fart in modern french. "Pet" means fart. In french petard is define as a small explosive devise, a cigarettes, a joint and in very rare occasion your bum. Also, petard is a quebec slang term for a very good looking guy.
 
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  • #145
iansmith said:
Petard does not mean fart in modern french. "Pet" means fart. In french petard is define as a small explosive devise, a cigarettes, a joint and in very rare occasion your bum. Also, petard is a quebec slang term for a very good looking guy.
Thanks, iansmith. If I recall, at the time the word was grabbed by Shakespeare, "peter" meant to fart in French. As an infrequent visitor to PQ, I have never heard petard used to describe a really hot dude, but then again, I tend to hang with the bikers whose total command of English can be "smoke show!" (rear tire burn-off). :smile:
 
  • #146
OK, here's an easy one. Two words, antonyms, differing only in the transposition of two letters.
 
  • #147
We might need a hint. Also, do the transposed letters have to be contiguous, or can they come from different parts of the word, like garbed and barged?
 
  • #148
The words should probably be classified as "almost" antonyms or "antonyms in some useages". The letters are contiguous.
 
  • #149
One last hint. One of the words is a rather specialized one, but turns up often here at PF; the other is in common general use.
 
  • #150
clueless! perhaps one more hint?
 

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