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Endangered Words: a Collection of Rare Gems for Word Lovers
When a word perfectly captures a human truth, humans respond to it in the same way that they respond to a beautiful melody. They smile. They nod their heads. They tell others of their discovery. So says Simon Hertnon in his introduction to Endangered Words, and after wrapping your tongue around the lexical rarities he offers up tohis readers, you'll have to agree Hertnon provides one hundred hand-selected rarities, and, in a virtuoso display of concinnity and logodaedaly, breathes life into them with his lucid descriptions of their meaning and engaging examples of their usage.
Thanks to Endangered Words, you no longer have to be at a loss for words or reach for the cliched and commonplace. The English language is brimming with ambrosial alternatives, and this compendium offers the cream of the crop.
Filled with words to be treasured for their elegant precision, from anacampserote to sprezzatura to zemblanity, Endangered Words is the perfect handbook for writers, an excellent resource for communicators, and an entertaining read for anyone with an appetite forthe very brightest gems of the English language.
Thanks to Endangered Words, you no longer have to be at a loss for words or reach for the cliched and commonplace. The English language is brimming with ambrosial alternatives, and this compendium offers the cream of the crop.
Filled with words to be treasured for their elegant precision, from anacampserote to sprezzatura to zemblanity, Endangered Words is the perfect handbook for writers, an excellent resource for communicators, and an entertaining read for anyone with an appetite forthe very brightest gems of the English language.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Simon Hertnon
5 books1 followerSee also: William Henry (Simon's fiction pen name)
Simon is a philosopher from New Zealand who has spent much of his life travelling, reading, teaching, writing, and watching movies. He has a degree in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington and a love of language and story-telling that leads him to many authors and genres. He has written an update to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs as well as books on relationships, writing, rare words and, most recently, a novel (as William Henry). He lives in Auckland with his wife and twin daughters.
Simon is a philosopher from New Zealand who has spent much of his life travelling, reading, teaching, writing, and watching movies. He has a degree in Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington and a love of language and story-telling that leads him to many authors and genres. He has written an update to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs as well as books on relationships, writing, rare words and, most recently, a novel (as William Henry). He lives in Auckland with his wife and twin daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 19, 2022
A book for word lovers.
Especially ones who are SONSY, ZAFTIG, and KALON.
Ha. Lofty descriptions I gave myself.
Seriously- this is a fun book if you’re a word nerd. Like me. 🤓
Simon goes through the definitions of rare words, their etymology, and a story to help you learn the word’s context.
Especially ones who are SONSY, ZAFTIG, and KALON.
Ha. Lofty descriptions I gave myself.
Seriously- this is a fun book if you’re a word nerd. Like me. 🤓
Simon goes through the definitions of rare words, their etymology, and a story to help you learn the word’s context.
March 26, 2012
Fantabulous read! A more in depth review to follow.
"Ambrosial": Divinely fragrant, exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell, celestial or ethereal.
"Antepenultimate": The last but two or before the next to last.
"Bleezed": Scottish word meaning affected in the eyes by alcoholic excitement, in other words, a synonym for drunk.
"Caliginous": Misty, dim, murky, obscure, dark, literally and figuratively.
"Chiaroscuro": Representation in terms of light and shade without regard or use of color; also describes the method used to create such art; black and white photography and film fit this word.
"Concupiscible": vehemently desirous; the coveting of carnal things.
"Curglaff": Scottish dialect for the shock felt in bathing, when one first plunges into cold water.
"Lalochezia": Emotional relief gained by using indecent or vulgar language.
"Logodaedalus": One who is cunning in words; inventor of words, ala William Shakespeare.
"Noosphere": the part of the biosphere occupied by thinking humanity; a stage of evolutionary development characterized by the emergence of consciousness, the mind and interpersonal relationships; in other words: 'the sphere of thought'.
"Omnist": a person who believes in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people.
"Paraph": a flourish made after a signature, originally a precaution against forgery, ala John Hancock's on the Declaration of Independence.
"Perendinate": to defer until the day after tomorrow; to postpone for a day.
"Plutomania": excessive or frenzied pursuit of wealth.
"Schlimmbesserung": a so-called improvement that makes things worse.
"Ambrosial": Divinely fragrant, exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell, celestial or ethereal.
"Antepenultimate": The last but two or before the next to last.
"Bleezed": Scottish word meaning affected in the eyes by alcoholic excitement, in other words, a synonym for drunk.
"Caliginous": Misty, dim, murky, obscure, dark, literally and figuratively.
"Chiaroscuro": Representation in terms of light and shade without regard or use of color; also describes the method used to create such art; black and white photography and film fit this word.
"Concupiscible": vehemently desirous; the coveting of carnal things.
"Curglaff": Scottish dialect for the shock felt in bathing, when one first plunges into cold water.
"Lalochezia": Emotional relief gained by using indecent or vulgar language.
"Logodaedalus": One who is cunning in words; inventor of words, ala William Shakespeare.
"Noosphere": the part of the biosphere occupied by thinking humanity; a stage of evolutionary development characterized by the emergence of consciousness, the mind and interpersonal relationships; in other words: 'the sphere of thought'.
"Omnist": a person who believes in a single transcendent purpose or cause uniting all things or people.
"Paraph": a flourish made after a signature, originally a precaution against forgery, ala John Hancock's on the Declaration of Independence.
"Perendinate": to defer until the day after tomorrow; to postpone for a day.
"Plutomania": excessive or frenzied pursuit of wealth.
"Schlimmbesserung": a so-called improvement that makes things worse.
November 13, 2019
WARNING: This is a book for word nerds.
Am I a word nerd? I never used to think so, but yes, I guess I am. How does one know if one is a word nerd? Well let's see...you pick up this book, go crazy over words you never knew existed, like, well, 99 of them, go 'Yay! I already knew this one', like 'chiaroscuro' and feel smug about it, and then proceed to tell everyone you know about the cool, quite rare words you've just discovered. At this point, a word nerd discovers two things: 1. That most people don't care about that word you've just discovered (reading is better than hearing) and roll their eyes in FRONT of you and 2. Who your fellow word nerds ARE (they see the book, they pick it up, they go 'oh my God!' and have to write the book information down to find the book for themselves later).
I could say I discovered a third thing but its just too sad. Ok, here goes: 3. You want so desperately to remember every single word you've read and every single meaning, even though you know, with extreme sadness, that most of them will slip through the sieve of your brain, unable to hold on to your wires of memory through lack of daily use.
One word I promise I will keep is 'phrontistery', and I will laud it over the author forever, because unlike him when this book was published, I HAVE ONE! There's no internet or phone to distract me in my office, and when the door is closed, none may enter (and in fact, not many know of my phrontistery's existence as the door to it on the wall of the living room looks like a cupboard door, not a real one). Time runs differently in my phrontistery and I believe everyone should have one in order to bring amazing ideas of their own into the world.
What I can say at the end of this review is that I have come away with a sense of ease, of calm. I've always been against labels but Simon Hertnon has introduced me to the spiritual label that actually fits me. I can say I'm an Omnist. Aaaaaah, how at peace and rested I feel with that...
I love this book - I want everyone I know to read it. I know most of you won't, but I'm hoping that at least 1% of you will, and when you do - please let me know!
Am I a word nerd? I never used to think so, but yes, I guess I am. How does one know if one is a word nerd? Well let's see...you pick up this book, go crazy over words you never knew existed, like, well, 99 of them, go 'Yay! I already knew this one', like 'chiaroscuro' and feel smug about it, and then proceed to tell everyone you know about the cool, quite rare words you've just discovered. At this point, a word nerd discovers two things: 1. That most people don't care about that word you've just discovered (reading is better than hearing) and roll their eyes in FRONT of you and 2. Who your fellow word nerds ARE (they see the book, they pick it up, they go 'oh my God!' and have to write the book information down to find the book for themselves later).
I could say I discovered a third thing but its just too sad. Ok, here goes: 3. You want so desperately to remember every single word you've read and every single meaning, even though you know, with extreme sadness, that most of them will slip through the sieve of your brain, unable to hold on to your wires of memory through lack of daily use.
One word I promise I will keep is 'phrontistery', and I will laud it over the author forever, because unlike him when this book was published, I HAVE ONE! There's no internet or phone to distract me in my office, and when the door is closed, none may enter (and in fact, not many know of my phrontistery's existence as the door to it on the wall of the living room looks like a cupboard door, not a real one). Time runs differently in my phrontistery and I believe everyone should have one in order to bring amazing ideas of their own into the world.
What I can say at the end of this review is that I have come away with a sense of ease, of calm. I've always been against labels but Simon Hertnon has introduced me to the spiritual label that actually fits me. I can say I'm an Omnist. Aaaaaah, how at peace and rested I feel with that...
I love this book - I want everyone I know to read it. I know most of you won't, but I'm hoping that at least 1% of you will, and when you do - please let me know!
May 21, 2017
Like how the author gives a brief explanation of how he likes the word, so I get a feeling like how each word could have its different nuances and how beautiful words are in expressing things or feelings that are just so hard to grasp.
December 5, 2014
What a fun book for those who love rare words and their etymologies (origins). Simon Hertnon goes through 100 rare words, choosing his favorites, and explains them is detail. Two of these words I had heard of "in the wild": zaftig (pleasingly plump) and yoctosecond (tiny fraction of a second).
Hertnon makes a case for using each word and shows a quotation and usage. His explanations often get quite personal -- he refers often to his family -- and sometimes even preachy, but these connections help you retain the words and give you a better sense of them.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in words and their origins.
Hertnon makes a case for using each word and shows a quotation and usage. His explanations often get quite personal -- he refers often to his family -- and sometimes even preachy, but these connections help you retain the words and give you a better sense of them.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in words and their origins.
June 9, 2016
The words Hertnon chose were good--very interesting, mostly useful, covering a somewhat wide variety of topics. The problems? He used the "why I like this word" section to go on anti-technological, anti-capitalism soapbox divagations (one of the words that can be found in the book), and the "word alive" section to tell an oddly disjointed story about the adventures of an urban power couple.
I would recommend this book with the caution that the reader must wade through more than half the contents of the book being browbeaten with the author's personal philosophies. It does offer great insight as to why he chose the words he did, though.
I would recommend this book with the caution that the reader must wade through more than half the contents of the book being browbeaten with the author's personal philosophies. It does offer great insight as to why he chose the words he did, though.
February 21, 2010
More than just a dictionary, this book puts forth obscure-to-obsolete words, defines them and explains what makes them cool and why they should be more common. Of the hundred words, I only knew two -- "zaftig" and "philtrum" before I read the book, which I think is slightly impressive since my vocabulary is huge.
Writers and all those interested in words and language would find this worth their while.
Writers and all those interested in words and language would find this worth their while.
January 19, 2014
A fun read. The version I read was a released as "Endangered Words: A Collection of Rare Gems for Book Lovers," released in 2009. I love reading about obscure words, and this was enjoyable and light ...
September 11, 2015
I enjoyed this dictionary. Informative & Playful. As an upon-a-time Englist and History major, I recognized words from academic writings and writing appropriated by academicians. I enjoyed the book.
April 5, 2016
Pretty good read. The author's story at the end of each word didn't add anything but the rest was interesting. You'll probably never use the majority of these words (several are really awkward) but it's fun to know they're out there.
January 14, 2009
Fascinating so far... even know some of the words! Will make a point of using some of them. Fav so far is antepenultimate
January 11, 2011
Oh so many fantastic words that I'd now like to find a use for. I love all of the origin and usage nonsense. Particularly where you can find an example in literature.
September 24, 2020
This book changed my life and continues to change my life. Thank whoever you thank for people that spend their time putting collections like this together.
March 6, 2015
Enjoyed it very much. Will come in handy for throwing in that oddball word for the offbeat character in my story.
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January 24, 2017Loads of fun
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews