Amaze your friends, confuse your enemies, send people of all ages running for a dictionary!

The English language is full of really neat words, many that people almost never use. So if you want to impress people with your vocabulary, or you just enjoy learning new words, check out this directory.

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Jabberwocky English

   The English language isn't a set thing, words are being added to it all the time, often this happens gradually over a long period of time but on occasion words are added to the language by a specific person or event, that is what happened with Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky.
    Most of the words in Jabberwocky are nonsense out of Carrolls head, but when you read it you can tell right away what the words are supposed to mean. Now after so many people have read Jabberwocky some of the words Lewis Carroll made up have made their way into the English language, and are listed in dictionaries.

Juxtapose-To set side by side for comparison. When too people stand back to back to see who's tallest, they are juxtaposed.

Pulchritude-good looks. A good painting has pulchritude

Tome-A really large book or text, often one that is old. A dictionary is a tome (so is my math book).

Obfuscate-to make something obscure or dark

Fillip-The sound made by snapping your fingurs.

Kobold-a gnome in German folklore; kobolds live underground

Phobias

      The word phobia means fear, and words describing people's fear usually end with phobia (Clostrophobia means fear of tight places, etc.).
       Since people are afraid of a lot of things there are quite a few words for fear in the english language, and some are a little odd. Here are some lesser known phobia words (taken from the book Mind Boggles):

Clinophobia	fear of going to bed
Cynophobia	fear of dogs
Pogonophobia	fear of beards
Scholionophobia	fear of schooll
Scopophobia	fear of being stared at
Teratophobi	fear of monsters
Triskaidekaphobia	fear of Friday the 13th

Serendipity-the faculty of finding things that you aren't looking for.

Zephyr-the west wind

Minim-something very small and minute-or half a musical note

Splendiferous- deceptively splendid-or just splendid

Comestible-food (talk about a big word for a simple thing!)

Aglet-The metal tip of a shoe-lace.

Apothegm-a short pointed instruction or saying