Many people estimate that there are more than a million words in the English language. In fact, during a project looking at words in digitised books, researchers from Harvard University and Google in 2010, they estimated a total of 1,022,000 words and that the number would grow by several thousand each year. When you see a massive number like this, though, it’s important to remember that this includes different forms of the same word. It also includes lots of words that we could call archaic (they are not used in modern English).
In the second edition of the Oxford English dictionary, there are approximately 600,000 word forms defined. Again, this includes many old-fashioned words that are not in common use any more. The dictionary also expands every year to keep up with new words that are invented to describe the world around us, or to include new meanings for words that already exist in English. A more useful number from the Oxford English Dictionary would be the 171,476 words that are in current use. That means there are examples of each of these words being used recently.
Each day I’ll post a new, unusual, weird or obsure English word. Your challenge is to try use the word during your day in any way you’d like - speaking, writing, in text and WhatsApp messages, even on your social media accounts. Come and tell us how you used in a reply to that day’s word. Alternatively, you can create a totally new definition for the word if you’d like. Again, share that in reply to the words’ post.
James walks into his room. His new very young stepmother is stuck under the bed with only her underwear on. “Help me James, I am stuck and cannot get out no matter what you do to me or my body…”. But James has fled the house. His novercaphobia causing him to flee the scene.
And just like that a whole porn industry subgenre dissapears with James as he runs out the door…
Neat! I gotta squeeze this into my daily vocabulary
Like I saw an ad for Hunters yesterday. It said “refreshes like nothing on earth”. Made me think it isn’t sublunary, or even imported! Their marketing team obviously doesn’t know the importance of a word like “else”.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek μαστιγοφόρος (mastigophóros)
Also, in Zoology
Another word for mastigophoran: Any of various protozoans possessing one or more flagella.
Also, in Star Wars lore:
Mastigophorous was a clan of Drall living on the planet Drall at the time of the First Corellian Insurrection. As Marcha was the oldest female in the clan, she became its Duchess.
