12 Everyday Things You Had No Idea There Was A Word For
Ever seen an aglet, used a tittle, or come across a nibbling? Chances are you have, but just had no idea these everyday things actually had names. As it turns out, there are loads of common objects and events that have most people just haven’t got a clue there’s a word for. Here are 12 of the best:
1. Philtrum
Human beings have philtrums, and they’re not some obscure organ left over from when we all still lived in trees. It’s just the name for the groove between you nose and your top lip. (Getty)
2. Nibbling
Convinced you’ve never met a nibbling? No, it’s not a creature from a fairytale, it’s just a gender-neutral word for either a niece or a nephew. (Rex)
3. Hypnic Jerk
No, it’s not the name of slightly scary heavy metal band. A hypnic jerk is that weird twitch that wakes you up just as you’re falling asleep. (Tumblr)
4. Semantic Satiation
You know when you say or read a word so many times it stops seeming like a word at all? That’s called semantic satiation. (Tumblr)
5. Tittle
This is something we’ve all used countless times without having any idea it had it’s own name. It’s the word for the dot that goes over an ‘i’.
6. Grawlix
Don’t know what a grawlix is? #!%& off! A grawlix is the name for using symbols in place of a swear word.
7. Griffonage
This is a problem most doctors seem to suffer from for some odd reason. Griffonage is handwriting that’s just completely illegible.
8. Aglets
If you’ve ever bought trainers, you probably have aglets in your wardrobe. They’re the little plastic bits on the end of shoelaces that stop them fraying.
9. Petrichor
This is a word that specifically describes that incredible smell that only happens when rain falls after a spell of hot, dry weather.
10. Punt
You can show off to any wine-snob friends with this one. A punt is the name for the indentation at the base of a wine bottle. (WestEnd61/Rex)
11. Paresthesia
OK, so there is another name for this one. But paresthesia is the official scientific name for pins and needles.
12. Estival
You can say it feels autumnal when the leaves are starting to drop, but what about when the weather is heating up at the end of spring? Here’s when you can use estival – it means to do with summer.
