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Word Up!

Posted on Aug 9th, 2007 by kcidybom : Manager - Bank of Cosmic Connection kcidybom
Following Jeannie's investigation of words that have no direct English counterpart, and thinking of the word chantepleure in particular, meaning to sing and weep simultaneously, I did a bit of my own surfing and found a few others.  I saved Japanese words for last - they have a gift for creating words laden with intense meaning.  Almost last, that is...well, you'll see......

Chinese


yuanfen -
A relationship brought about by fate or destiny.

houtian - The day before yesterday.

German

schleppen
to move an object by using a mixture of dragging and carrying - also to describe an individual who has difficulty putting one foot in front of the other

kummerspeck  (literally 'grief bacon')
the excess weight gained from emotion-related overeating

drachenfutter  (literally 'dragon fodder')
the peace offerings made by guilty husbands to their wives

backpfeifengesicht
a face that cries out for a fist in it

Dutch

uitwaaien
to walk in windy weather just for fun

Russian

koshatnik
a dealer of stolen cats

Pascuense (Easter Island)

tingo
to borrow objects from a friend's house, one by one, until there's nothing left


Japanese

hingi/ringi
reaching a decision via a document circulated to all employees

ryookai
adjournment of a meeting due to lack of attendance

nodate
aristocrat taking a break during a trip in a palanquin

niramekko
game in which two children looking at each other to try to make the opponent laugh first

yaroojidai
throwing one's weight around in a small group without knowing one's real worth in the larger world outside

reikanshooohoo
cajoling people into buying articles for an extremely high price by claiming they will bring good luck

sen'yooshiji
curry favor by sucking pus from carbuncles and licking hemorrhoids

chitokotoba
language used toward customers by women in the drinking-world establishment

tsujigiri
killing a passerby in order to test a new sword

iai
art of drawing one's sword, cutting down one's opponent and sheathing the sword afterward

itai
the act of laughing so hard your sides hurt

English  (Almost as many words have fallen into disuse as there are words being used.)

ascoliasm
boys' game of beating each other with gloves or leather while hopping


Really?

Garnered from all around the web, but here is a good resource.
Access_public Access: Public 2 Comments Print views (281)  
Tagged with: language, culture, social
about 3 hours later
shawnmichel said

This is beautiful! Thank you!

God love those Germans. Only they would have a word for a “face that cries out for a fist in it.”

Shawn

kcidybom : Manager - Bank of Cosmic Connection
about 3 hours later
kcidybom said

Yeah, there are others but that one is a beauty  - especially given my German heritage…;-)

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