Word of the Day. Post it Here

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by Captain Kremmen, Aug 16, 2007.

  1. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    Bludgeon - it has two different, but connected meanings:

    1) As a noun - it's a thick stick with a heavy end, used as a weapon
    2) As a verb - to beat someone, repeatedly

    I suppose you could bludgeon someone, using a bludgeon.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    Can I borrow your bludgeon? I've never heard this word used as a noun before, hmm.

    There's something about this word that is so beyond descriptive, to me. If I'm reading an article about someone who has been murdered, and the author uses the word ''bludgeoned,'' it literally causes me to recoil, knowing that the victim's final moments were horrific.
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2022
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    Yes I have heard the noun.I also think you can bludgeon someone emotionally

    I wonder if it was originally a weapon of war or if it was just a tool of the criminal (or desperately defending themselves) classes?

    I think the medieval soldier used to carry something like a bludgeon but it had nails sticking out of it.
    (think I would prefer to be bludgeoned

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    )
     
    wegs likes this.
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    You meant to post wouldn’t, right?

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,451
    No, being an Anglo-French couple, we ploughed.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    sideshowbob likes this.
  8. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,451
    Oh yes, bludgeon is quite a common word in British English. It means to beat very severely, often to death, with some crude instrument, but it can also be used figuratively e.g. of someone's style in argument.
     
    wegs likes this.
  9. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    So, it sounds like how we use it here in the states, to refer to brutal murders.

    It can used figuratively as well, hmm...

    Let's use it in a sentence...

    I'd dare say that on any given week here at Sci-Forums, certain members can be seen bludgeoning dead horses.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  10. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,355
    The bludgeon as a weapon of war I think is more commonly called the mace, I think. I'm not sure if they're basically synonymous or not, or whether there is some distinction. It may be that the bludgeon is the more generic, and the mace is the more refined / designed, purpose built for war etc. But I'd just be guessing.
    The tool of the criminal was more often than not the cudgel (short thick stick) or the blackjack (which was a flexible rod - rubber etc - quieter, to knock people out).
    That would probably be the Morning Star (a mace with spikes). Nasty thing.
     
    wegs likes this.
  11. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,355
    Not "pluffed"??

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    Ah, the joy of English: 9 different pronunciations of -ough- in English...

    Borough - Burr-uh
    Enough - En-uff
    Cough - C-off
    Hiccough - Hicc-up
    Lough - L-ock
    Through - Thr-oo
    Thought - Th-aw-t
    Though - Th-owe
    Plough - Pl-ow
     
    sideshowbob likes this.
  12. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    That reminds me of when I worked irregularly at the Boston Sheraton.Having outstayed my visa my boss took advantage and withheld my pay.When I objected he suggested the other man in the room had a length of hosepipe and I might find myself in the river if I kicked up any more of a fuss(I gave up on my money)

    Yes ,cudgel is what I was likely thinking of but never heard of the blackjack till now.
     
  13. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077
    Sorry my dyslexia strikes again

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  14. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    How I larfed.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    exchemist and Michael 345 like this.
  15. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077
    How would you be being cleaved?

    Cleave can be cling close to
    OR
    Split apart

    The person was cleaved to the attacker as the attacker was trying to cleave him apart with a cleaver

    shudder

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  16. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,057
    I think of somebody being bludgeoned to death by a weapon of opportunity, like a candlestick or a fireplace poker, like on the old Perry Mason TV show.
     
  17. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,849
    Save that kind of talk for the bedroom.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    exchemist likes this.
  18. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    Since Halloween is fast approaching, I'm thinking of words that typically sprout up, only around this time of year.

    Goblin is an interesting word; (according to wikipedia) it originally came from the Greek word "Kobalos," which translates into English as "Rogue" or "Evil Spirit." As time went on, goblins took on a lighter tone, and they're not so much considered as ''evil,'' as they are mischievous. They have insatiable appetites, and love dining on raw meat, especially live animals.

    Ghoul originates from the Arabic غُول ghūl, from غَالَ ghāla, "to seize". In Arabic, the term is also sometimes used to describe a greedy or gluttonous individual.

    Folklore is fun.



     
    exchemist likes this.
  19. exchemist Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    12,451
    How interesting that that word is from Arabic. There are a few in English: cypher and azure spring to mind but there must be lots more. I expect you would know more about that than I do.
     
    wegs likes this.
  20. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,355
    Hundreds of words, I'd have thought, with the one that sticks in my mind being assassin, coming from the Arabic hashish - yes, cannabis. Whodathunkit!

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  21. Sarkus Hippomonstrosesquippedalo phobe Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    10,355
    Meh. My D&D-playing friends and I have been fighting ghouls, goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins, ogres, wights, wraiths, etc for years!!

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    wegs likes this.
  22. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    That's pretty cool, Sarkus. I've never played, but know enough about it to conclude that it requires a lot of patience.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    For your reading pleasure...

    D&D: 10 Unpopular Opinions, According to Reddit (screenrant.com)
     
  23. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    I learned , from being taught Chaucer in school that a "wight" was just an old English word for a "man" but I see it took on a few other meanings in the meantime .
     

Share This Page