I’ve recently been having a lot of fun over at Savethewords.org, which is a site dedicated to resurrecting old words and thereby increasing your ‘word power’. It works by clicking on a word of your choice; once selected, each word shows you its definition and usage in a sentence. Many of the words included are so-called lost words that are no longer used in everyday conversation, but with your participation, that can soon change! Here are some of my favorites:

Modernicide, n. killing of modern people
It’s a shame that modernicide is illegal as Celine Dion would be at the top of my hitlist.

Supellectile, adj. of the nature of furniture
Mike’s supellectile skills are not in doubt, I just wish he’d use wood or plastic instead of dead cats.

Microreproduction, n. the technique of producing a photographic image too small
Bob dedicated his life to the microreproduction of images of Pamela Anderson and now had a collection that could fit under his fingernail.

Icasm, n. figurative expression
The President’s address was full of icasms, which probably means he didn’t understand it either.

Ovablastic, adj. making eggs burst open in the womb
The Sigourney Weaver virus will destroy all foreign cells and ultimately emerge from the body via an ovablastic process.

Squiriferous, adj. having the character or qualities of a gentleman
After 30 years in the jungle living with monkeys, Mongo had lost his squiriferous manners, but he was a whiz at collecting coconuts.

If you like your word, you can to adopt it, with the pledge: I hereby promise to use this word, in conversation and correspondence, as frequently as possible to the very best of my ability. You can even order a shirt with your very own lost word printed on it! Another compelling reason for participating in this revolution is that using these words could make you seem smarter than you are, if that sort of thing is important to you, plus many are simply too delicious to be allowed to remain obscure. Let us know which words you’ve managed to slip into daily life!