I swear I’m going to get a non Word Wednesday post up soon – life has been hectic and I’ve got a bunch of drafts started but haven’t managed to finish any of them. I’m also working on a new site so watch for that announcement coming very soon!
I make no secret of the fact that I’m a bibliophile. I LOVE books. I love holding them, reading them, reviewing them, talking about them, pretty much anything to do with books. In fact, today’s Word Wednesday word came out of a book I read recently. I keep a notebook beside me when I read and write down any really cool words I read so that I can use them in my own writing. (I know, I’m a giant word nerd and I’m proud of it!)
I loved the fact that I had to go look up what this word meant – I had pretty much figured it out from the contextual cues but I still like to look up new words to ensure that they mean what I think they mean. (*Said in my best Inigo Montoya voice)
Without further ado, today’s word is:
Infandous – the word isn’t even IN most dictionaries today, it’s that out of use. Of course, having a subscription to the Oxford English Dictionary comes in really handy at times like this. (To be fair, the book I found it in was pretty old so I’m not surprised there were some words that are obsolete in it.)
Infandous – another word with a Latin root. This time the root is infantus – meaning abominable or unspeakable. This is also the same root as infant (or one who does not speak) which makes me laugh since the definition of infandous is “too odious to be expressed or mentioned”. Which is not what I think of when I hear the word infant!
Infandous – (In-‘FAN’-dus) Adjective. Something too odious or abominable to be mentioned.
So if you’re looking for a word that is no longer in use and need to describe something that is too horrible to mention, try using infandous. Sometimes, the old words are better than anything we have now.