Ain't English fascinating?
Well, 🎩 as a language, spoken English is more that 1400 years old and has over 160 different dialects.
Obviously, the main consequence of this is that the English language is amazingly diverse. And even for old time English speakers, there is ever so often a word or phrase that hasn’t been heard of before.
However, don’t you demur.
Today, were going to be talking about a few in·te·res·ting English words that are now more commonly thrown around from time to time.
Not only will you get a new set of mesmeric words for your vocabulary, but now, you can be the one starting off conversations with words that are totally piquant. (I promise I'll stop 🙃)
😶🌫️ A few of these words may refer to silly people . . . don't get into a fight . . .
Tomfoolery
Kicking off with one of EPIFANEs finest words in the series to say, Tomfoolery refers to behavior that is foolish or ridiculously silly.
The word comes from the term tom-fool which is a mixture of a generic name “Tom”, and the word “fool”.
It is meant that “Tom” (the person being referred to) was exhibiting silly behavior. In the same vein, calling a person a “tom-long“, meant that the person (referred to as generic Tom) was taking a long time.
The term tom-fool goes as far back as the 14th century. However it was in the 19th century that the verb form Tomfoolery was first used.
Tomfoolery, unlike tom-fool, refers to a behavior rather than to a person. Today, the meaning of the word may also carry a prankish overtone.
Malarkey
Ah, here's another one. This word also rolls smoothly off the tongue.
Malarkey refers to talk that is meaningless, silly, or viewed as nonsense. The word can also be used to refer to behaviors and actions.
For example, does your friend give excuses for not getting you a coke with your name on it? Well . . . he might just be speaking malarkey.
Or don't you like going outside? That too may also be referred to as malarkey.
As to the origin of the term, there are many theories. So, to make the information you get as factual as possible, I will give you the story I'm personally biased toward 🙃.
The word malarkey comes from the Greek word malakía. It has an interesting literal meaning, but figuratively, it was used to describe stupidity and nonsense.
Given this theory, the word can be taken to be really old. But “malarkey” as we know it only became popular in the 20th century when it was introduced into American cartoons.
Gobemouche
Gobemouche is an interesting English word from the early 19th century that has a variable meaning. The word has both a French and an Irish side to it.
In literal French, gobemouche means to swallow a fly whole. It's literally referring to someone who opens their mouth in wonder as he believes everything he hears.
The term was used to describe people that are credulous, naive or gullible.
It also seems that Gobemouche was also used as a slang among the Irish to refer to a meddling busybody.
Wabbit
Now here’s a word that has nothing to do with rabbit 🙃. It’s an old Scottish word used to say that you’re tired.
A wabbit person is someone who feels exhausted or weak. Also it may be used to refer to feeling a bit unwell or “under the weather”.
The next time you call in sick, you could just say that you're feeling a bit wabbit. Remember to thank me afterward.
Pauciloquent
This term is a fascinating English word with Latin origins. It is a mixture of two words “pauci” meaning few, and “loquy” meaning speech.
It simply describes someone who uses a few words in conversation.
The word has been in use since around the early 17th century.
This is one of those general terms that does not refer to the wide majority of people. Most people are more Bolavite, or even loquacious 🙃.
Flibbertigibbet
Now I know that we already went over some “talkative” terms, but here’s another interesting one for your pleasure—Flibbertigibbet. Conveniently made from sounds symbolizing gibberish speech.
A Flibbertigibbet may refer to a talkative person, but it goes even deeper than that to describe someone that is also silly and irresponsible.
The word was used from somewhere around the 11 century where it was usually used to refer to young women. In today's English language its use is mostly limited to talkatives or people who gossip.
So now, you know more about a few fascinating English words that could really pep up your vocabulary.
English is quite a diverse language, and there will always be new words to learn. But these few words should be able to give an interesting twist to how you speak. I hope you enjoyed reading this story.
See you next time
