It’s from the Latin noun osculum, which means “kiss,” but the word also applied to the sciences and zoology where it meant “an opening or orifice.” If you’re a mathematician, you may also know the term from geometry, which is perhaps where the word should toil in eternity. Check out some other dirty-sounding words here.) Kissing is so PG …īut osculating sounds as exotic as a romantic getaway to Paris. Of course, masticate means “to chew,” and it’s also one of those old Latin derivatives from mastic?re, also meaning “to chew.” (You know what else masticate is? A word that sounds dirty … but isn’t. Chewing is so humdrum …īut if you tell people your dietitian told you to masticate slowly in order to enjoy every bite, you’ll sound pretty exciting. It’s also a way of singing at celebratory events such as weddings and can be done as a form of “call and response” that involves audience participation. You might ululate when your team scores, with a long, protracted “wooot,” but in certain parts of the world, such as in parts of Africa and the Middle East, ululating expresses sorrow and grief as well as joy. To ululate is “to wail or howl loudly, in a sort of rhythmic, trilling way.” Woo girls are so irritating …īut ululate girls … now, they’re classy. This is a relatively bright and shiny 19th-century word … not quite as old as some on this list, but definitely just as fancy. This word means “ to laugh loudly,” to perhaps even howl with laughter. And, you’ll be happy when you’re on your deathbed to look back and know that you cachinnated your way through life. Think of it as a partner to “haste makes waste.” Laughing loudly is so jarring …īut cachinnating isn’t quite so abrasive. To festinate is “to hasten, to hurry,” from the Latin fest?n?tus, meaning “hurried.”īy the way, a classical Greek adage, which translated to Latin as festina lente-“make haste slowly”-was a favorite of Roman emperors, Shakespeare, and other authors and poets … seems like good advice. The Latin root word susurro means “mutterer or whisperer,” which leads us to our current use of susurrate, even though it is fairly rare, meaning “ to murmur,” or “to make a soft, rustling sound.” Hurrying is so stressful …īut festinating is quite fun and calming (to say). This is one of those old words that feels right at home today, yet you’re not likely to hear it in everyday conversation. Now, you can say you’re quite cultured because even though you susurrate, you’re doing something with Latin descent. We are here to help you combat any underhanded comments that come your way. Even though it is literally “ to breathe” (or “to breathe in a sighing fashion”) it’s an airy, delicate word to use for a quite ordinary activity.Īnd, it’s a poetic word, with a poetic meaning, which earns it double points in our “fancy words” notebook! The 16th–17th century poet Thomas Heywood wrote, “Whence came that deep suspire?” and reading that almost evokes the desire to sigh! Murmuring is so annoying … Breathing is so mundane …īut suspire sounds much more intriguing. Keep reading for more fancy alternatives for your humdrum, ordinary, everyday words. We take many words ( breathing, chewing, kissing) for granted, but people will truly snap to attention when you use their unexpected synonyms. First recorded in the late 1800s, bombinate sounds a bit like bumblebee, which is kind of neat, as it means “to hum, or buzz.” It comes from the Latin bombil?re, which also means “to hum.” Well, today’s the day you embrace a fancier word for humming, and a few more. Have you ever been out walking around the park, humming a tune to yourself, and suddenly thought, “The word humming is so boring … yet its synonym bombinating sounds much more interesting!” No? (Really, is it just us?)
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