Nerd

   Nerd (n)
[Pronopunced nurd]

The slang term 'nerd' means an intelligent but single-minded person, obsessed with a certain hobby or pursuit, e.g. a computer nerd. But the word that has been the bane of so many elementary schooler's existence was actually invented by their king: none other than Dr. Seuss himself! The word first appeared in print in Seuss's 1950 picture book, If I Ran the Zoo.

But Seuss's 'nerd' was a small animal from the land of Ka-Troo, not a pale kid with glasses taped together.

Thanks to thesaurus.com for the above and thefreedcitionary for the following:-

 Nerd next appears, with a gloss, in the February 10, 1957, issue of the Glasgow, Scotland, Sunday Mail in a regular column entitled "ABC for SQUARES": "Nerda square, any explanation needed?" Many of the terms defined in this "ABC" are unmistakable Americanisms, such as hep, ick, and jazzy, as is the gloss "square," the current meaning of nerd. The third appearance of nerd in print is back in the United States in 1970 in Current Slang: "Nurd [sic], someone with objectionable habits or traits.... An uninteresting person, a 'dud.'" Authorities disagree on whether the two nerdsDr. Seuss's small creature and the teenage slang term in the Glasgow Sunday Mailare the same word. Some experts claim there is no semantic connection and the identity of the words is fortuitous. Others maintain that Dr. Seuss is the true originator of nerd and that the word nerd ("comically unpleasant creature") was picked up by the five- and six-year-olds of 1950 and passed on to their older siblings, who by 1957, as teenagers, had restricted and specified the meaning to the most comically obnoxious creature of their own class, a "square."

Exogamy

The custom of marrying outside a social class, community, clan, tribe or other social unit.

 

    The fusion of reproductive cells from distantly related or unrelated individuals; outbreeding; cross-pollination.

The opposite of exogamy is endogamy.

  

Heterochromia

In anatomy, heterochromia refers to a difference in coloration, usually of the iris but also of hair or skin. Heterochromia is a result of the relative excess or lack of melanin (a pigment). It may be inherited, or caused by genetic mosaicism, disease, or injury.

Photo source unknown

Heterochromia of the eye (heterochromia iridis or heterochromia iridum; the common wrong form "heterochromia iridium" is not correct Latin) is of two kinds. In complete heterochromia, one iris is a different color from the other. In partial heterochromia or sectoral heterochromia, part of one iris is a different color from its remainder.

Eye color, specifically the color of the irises, is determined primarily by the concentration and distribution of melanin. The affected eye may be hyperpigmented (hyperchromic) or hypopigmented (hypochromic).[5] In humans, usually, an excess of melanin indicates hyperplasia of the iris tissues, whereas a lack of melanin indicates hypoplasia.  (definition from Wikipedia)  

Propinquity

Propinquity is a noun meaning nearness in place or time or relationship; kinship; similarity in nature.  In social psychology, propinquity is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction. It refers to the physical or psychological proximity between people. Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things ("like-attracts-like"). Two people living on the same floor of a building, for example, have a higher propinquity than those living on different floors, just as two people with similar political beliefs possess a higher propinquity than those whose beliefs strongly differ. 

So those who have a mutual interest in words and their meanings have a higher propinquity than exists between those who are interested and those who are not.

Indefectible

Monica recently bought a rucksack that was described on its wonderful label as 'indefectible'.  Hwne I saw that I assumed it was one of those made-up words that translators occasionally manage to create from a mangle of similar words. I was wrong.  It is a real word.

Indefectible adj. - Having the ability to resist decay or failure;  lasting;  having no flaw or defect;  perfect.

I just wish I were indefectible!

In a religious context the indefectibility of the Church is a gift from Christ to the Church by which she is preserved to the end of the age as the "institution of salvation".

Poncif

Poncif (plural poncifs) is a French word sometimes used in literary English.  It means stereotype, banality or derivative.

  

Gastrocnemius

Noun: the gastrocnemius muscle in the back part of the leg that forms the greater part of the calf, responsible for the plantar flexion of the foot; the largest muscle in the calf of the leg, the action of which extends the foot, raises the heel, and assists in bending the knee.

"Her legs are telling that she's a dancer: gastrocnemiuses look strong, perfect shape of shank, back is not slouching." 

 Origin: First recorded 1670–80;  < Neo-Latin  < Greek gastroknēm ( ía ) calf of the leg + Latin -ius  noun suffix

Related forms  - gastrocnemial, gastrocnemian - adjectives

Since it's a Latuin suffix I would think the plural should really be gastrocnemii.  But then does one refer to hippopotamuses or hippopotami??

Enervated

I was reasonably sure I knew what enervate meant .  I thought it was a synonym for energise and meant give somnething energy.  Wrong!

To enervate is to cause something to weaken or to cause someone to feel drained of energy.  As an adjective, enervated means lacking in energy or vitality.

Synonyms for enervated include torpid, listless, lethargic and drained.

Previse

    I came across a word that was new to me the other day - prevised. So I did what I usually do and looked it up.

 

To previse means to know in advance; foresee; notify in advance; or forewarn.

 

Prevised therefore means known in advance, imagined beforehnad, or forewarned. 

Prelapsarian

 

Prelapsarian is an adjective. Strictly speaking it means of or relating to the period before the fall of Adam and Eve; characteristic of the time before the Fall of Man.  It is, however, also used in a broader context to mean innocent and unspoiled; or simply ancient.

In a Ruth Rendell novel, for example, a young girl who drives an automatic car describes her mother's car with gears as prelapsarian.

It appears to be pronounced prlps-ARE-ian but don't quote me on that - I'm no good at working with the phoentic alphabet.