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Monday words: Chichevache and Bicorne
Oct. 31st, 2023 07:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
med_catChichevache [CHEESH-vahsh]
(n.)
- A medieval monster, said to have fed exclusively upon the flesh of patient wives, and was therefore very lean.
From Middle French “chicheface” from Old French “chincheface” from “chiche” (lean; skinny; miserly; parsimonious) + “face” (face) which was changed to “vache” (cow) when brought into English use by Chaucer.
Used in a sentence:
“Oh don’t you worry your pretty little head, darling; you are certainly safe from the gaping maw of the chichevache!”
(from The Grandiloquent Word of the Day)
Bicorne or Bycorne [BAHY-kohrn]
(n.)
- A medieval two-horned monster, said to have fed exclusively upon the flesh of patient husbands, and has therefore grown very large (yeah, right).
From Middle French “bicorne” (two-horned) from classical Latin “bicornis” (two-horned anvil)
Used in a sentence:
“Oh yeah? Well, don’t bother trying to hide if you see a bicorne coming your way, for I assure you that you are likewise quite safe!”
(from The Grandiloquent Word of the Day)
