this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2024
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Overmorrow refers to the day after tomorrow and I feel like it comes in quite handy for example.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

ereyesterday is the day before yesterday. as a german i am used to refer to two days in the past and future without useing weekdays.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

They’ve fallen from grace. Probably because it’s been a few centuries since the saxons

The language could use a refresher eh

[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

its actually a real rabit hole to see which cultures use however many days to refer into the future and past. Since the use of unified calenders its been declining. few centuries ago it wasnt unusual to have words for like "five days ago". and some languages actually perserved that!

Dont ask me for specifics tho. its been many moons since i did that deep dive ^^

[–] [email protected] 5 points 17 hours ago

defenestrate.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Wait overmorrow is correct English? We have "morgen" and "overmorgen" in Dutch which is tomorrow and overmorrow respectively, so I always missed an overmorrow in English. Is it actually commonly understood or will people look at me like I'm a weird foreigner when I use it?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

It's archaic english. So yes, I think people will think you're weird. But maybe if you start using it with your dutch friends/colleagues in english-speaking contexts, you can slowly introduce it into common usage in your community. Might be cool.

Also don't forget "ereyesterday" for the day before yesterday.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

"Overmorrow" is actually not obscure or obsolete at all in german.
"Übermorgen" is quite often used (at least around me)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

Übermorgen is the name of my heavy metal band

[–] LazerFX 5 points 20 hours ago

Crepuscular. Related to twilight, dimness, the golden hour.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

Rob is a name in English. Rob means slave in Bosnian.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Sesquipedalian: A user of big words

I like that saying sesquipedalian makes you sesquipedalian.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

This is my favourite too. I have a very sesquipedalian friend, and I had the honour of introducing him to the word.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

Two words technically, but "Nothing doing!"

Sort of an old fashioned way to say "no way"

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

Hysteresis, the lag or delay between doing something and it's outcome. See also: hysteretic.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago

I use hysteresis daily... Refrigeration.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 hours ago

On thermostats it's the difference between the off and on temperatures - like if you set it to 24 degrees, you could have a hysteresis of 1 degree, meaning it'll turn on again at 23 degrees. (Or something like that.)

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[–] pumpkinseedoil 2 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Euouae

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euouae

Euouae (/juː.ˈuː.iː/; sometimes spelled Evovae)[1] is an abbreviation used as a musical mnemonic in Latin psalters and other liturgical books of the Roman Rite. It stands for the syllables of the Latin words saeculorum Amen, taken from the Gloria Patri, a Christian doxology that concludes with the phrase in saecula saeculorum. Amen. The mnemonic is used to notate the variable melodic endings (differentiae) of psalm tones in Gregorian chant.

In some cases, the letters of Euouae may be further abbreviated to E—E.[2] A few books of English chant (notably Burgess and Palmer's The Plainchant Gradual) make use of oioueae for the equivalent English phrase, "world without end. Amen".

According to Guinness World Records, Euouae is the longest word in the English language consisting only of vowels, and also the English word with the most consecutive vowels.[3] As a mnemonic originating from Latin, it is unclear that it should count as an English word; however, it is found in the unabridged Collins English Dictionary.[4]

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago

No, someone just dropped a pile of vowels on a page while carrying them to be cleaned or something, and the monks decided to stick with it

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] loudambiance 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Sometimes I feel like I'm still the only person who still uses it. I'm teaching my daughter the proper way to use it because the schools aren't.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

I'm always shouting it at movies and TV shows when they use "who" instead.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (9 children)

It's German but 'Rucksackriemenquerverbindungsträger', the thing between the straps of a backpack that you can connect to lighten the load on your shoulders.

I made the word up but I use it pretty often.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

Vituperative. Means vicious.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Gloam/gloaming

The onset of twilight/becoming gloomy

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (16 children)

Not a word, but there's a specific phrase uttered when you casually pass by someone working, stop for a chat, and then genuinely wish them well with their work as you leave.

This phrase does not exist in English:

  • "Break a leg" is close, but more reserved for some grand performance

Nor does it exist in German:

  • "Viel Spass/Glück" (Have fun, Good Luck) is also close, but has an element of sarcasm and/or success through chance.
  • (Edit) "Frohes Schaffen" (Happy 'getting it done') is pretty spot on.

In Turkish, you just say "Kolay Gelsin", meaning "May the work come easy so that you finish sooner".

Its such a useful unjudgemental phrase, easily uttered, that I've seen nowhere else. Maybe other languages have it too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago

I use "have fun" completely unironically all the time. One time my partner's (Pakistani) carer thought I spoke Arabic because Afwan is apparently an Arabic salutation meaning approximately the same as "cheerio", "goodbye", or "you're welcome" in English. He also turns up around half one every day for added amusement

[–] [email protected] 3 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Doesn't exist in German? What about "Frohes Schaffen"?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

(I've literally never heard that said once, but it qualifies, so I'll add it)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago

“Break a leg” is close, but more reserved for some grand performance

So in Estonian we have a bunch of those I don't remember because nobody uses them anymore. But the main one everyone knows is "Kivi kotti" (literally, stone/rock in your bag, but much like with "break a leg", you actually wish them well). It's still basically "good luck" but not so much for grand performances, it could just be for your first day of work, or going fishing (the real origin I guess). There's also "Nael kummi" which is "nail in your tire", which is reserved for people driving somewhere.

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