Necrosis

   
Necrosis is the premature death of cells and living tissue. Necrosis is caused by external factors, such as infection, toxins or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death.

zyxt

 
A word to rival yesterday's for a place at the end of the dictionary is zyxt. The Oxford English Dictionary ends on this nonword, being a long-obsolete Kentish spelling of the second person singular present tense of see!

Zyzzyva

 

I would not normally include scientific genera because there are too many and they are not something that most people would be intersted in as words in themselves. But zyzzyva was one I had to put it. Zyzzyva is a genus of tropical South American weevils particularly fond of palm trees.

Rubric

   

A rubric is a title or heading written or printed in red or otherwise distinguished from the rest of the text.
It can also be the direction for the conduct of divine service.
And a third meanng is any established mode of conduct or procedure.

Eonism

   
Eonism is the pretence by a man, of being a woman; transvestism.

Cynosure

   
A cynosure is a center of attemntion; something that strongly attracts attention and admiration.

Fizgig

   
A fizgig is an obsolete term for a flighty or frivolous girl. It also meant a spinning top or a firework.

Malkin

   
The word malkin has had a number of different meanings in the past.

It meant a slattern, an untidy woman.
It was also a scarecrow.
It was used for a hare or a cat.
And it also meant a mop of rags tied to a stick.

The related word grimalkin meant an old female cat or an ill-tempered old woman.

Green fingers

   
To have green fingers means to have a special ability to make plants grow; a seemingly natural gardening ability.

A Fesnying of Ferrets

   
Whole books have been written about collective nouns for animals. Many of them are words commonly used but some are more unusual.

Among these are:-

A fesnying of ferrets (which also be a busyness of ferrets)
A bob of seals (also plum, pod, rookery, team)
A badling of Ducks (also paddling, team (in the air), flock, plump, sord (on land), sute (on water).
A cete of badgers
A dole of doves (also flight, flock)
An exaltation of larks (also bevy)
A gam of whales (also pod, school)
A husk of hares (also down)
An ostentation of peafowl (also muster, pride)
A nye of pheasants (also nide, bevy)
A rout of wolves (also pack)
A shrewdness of apes
A sedge of herons (also siege)
A singular of boars (also sounder)

Do you have a favourite collective noun?