While reading a feature in the newspaper (Times Of India) today, I came upon a rather strange word. One of the readers wanted the meaning of the word "STAYCATION". The word is a combination of two words, STAY and VACATION. When during a VACATION, a person decides to STAY at home rather than making an expensive trip, it is called a 'staycation'.

This made me wonder whether there are more such words in English. The Oxford English Dictionary says that there are approximately 500,000 items or entries which can be classified as words. Add to this various specialized words that are found in medical and scientific usage, and this already huge number may well double.

Some words just become obsolete and are rarely, if ever, used. An average person uses only a small fraction of this total number. Some estimates suggest an average "educated", English speaker has a vocabulary of around 20,000 words, yet uses only half the number in normal conversation.

This is actually a big relief. Why? Now, what would you say to the following conversations:

"He is an aeolist and an accomplished practitioner of adoxography"

You would think I was talking highly about this person. Wait till you know what these words mean!

(Aeolist: A pompuous, windy bore who pretends to have an inspiration)
(Adoxography: Skilled writing on an unimportant subject)

Note: No, I am not talking about myself, though this hub may be considered an example of adoxography.

"I was rolling on the floor, overcome by a bout of cachinnation"

Is it some serious, painful affliction of the stomach? Or headache perhaps? Maybe a fit?

(Cachinnation: Loud or hysterical laughter. Also called LOL / ROFL).

"Being gambrinous, he felt capernoited. It didn't help that he was farctate too. Now, his borborygmus became a brontide. I could barely stop myself from defenestrating him".

Uh-huh !!???

(Gambrinous: being full of beer)
(Capernoited: Slightly intoxicated or tipsy)
(Farctate: Stuffed with food/overeating)
(Borborygmus: Rumbling sound of gas passing through the intestines)
(Brontide: Low rumbling of distant thunder)
(Defenestrating: Throwing out of a window. What did you think it meant?)

"Being maledicent and hadeharian, he proved to be quite a handful. A gowpen, infact! What they didn't understand was that he was just looking for lalochezia".

(Maledicent: Addicted to abusive language)
(Hadeharian: Someone who constatntly says "Hell" while talking)
(Gowpen: A double handful)
(Lalochezia: The use of foul, indescent and vulgar language for emotional relief).

"Don't be a mumpsimus!. All this tetrapyloctomy will lead you nowhere!

(Mumpsimus: One who sticks obstinately and wrongly to their old ways)
(Tetraplycotomy: Splitting a hair four ways)

" A philosophonculist will often indulge in ultracrepidarianism. What they don't understand is that it sounds so inaniloquent".

(Philosophonculist: One who pretends to know more than they do to impress others)
(Ultracrepidarian: One who speaks or offers opinions on matters beyond their knowledge)
(Inaniloquent: Speaking foolish or silly things)

" Ethylenediaminetetraacetate is not a cure for Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis".

I wish to God no one catches pnemono...sis. It actually sounds serious.

(Ethylenediaminetetraacetate: A chemical compound used as a drug)
(Pneumono...sis: A respiratory disease)

" Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is a place in the USA."

The shorter version of the name, Lake Chaubunagungamaug is quite a mouthful too. By the way, it is also known as Lake Webster. Anyone from around there?

"Last, but not the least, this hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian hub is an exercise in flauccinacinihilipilifaction. I just hope I am not met with exsibilation".

(Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian: Pertaining to extremely long words)
(Flauccinacinihilipilifaction: Categorizing something as useless and worthless)
(Exsibilation: Collective hisses of a disapproving audience).