[identity profile] trellia-chan.livejournal.com
Hi!  After a ridiculously long sabbatical, I'm resuming the Wednesday word. It's nice to be back!

I'll ease back in with a short, simple one this week.

nebbish:

Noun, slang: A pitiful, timid, meek, luckless, ineffectual person

Origin: English use started around the turn of the 20th century. Yiddish nebekh meaning poor, unfortunate. From Czech nebohý.  
[identity profile] ersatz-read.livejournal.com
naprapathy (nə-prăp′ə-thē), noun

Treatment of disease by manipulation of joints, muscles, and ligaments, along with nutritional therapy. 

Dr. Oakley Smith established the practice of naprapathy in the early 1900s (currently, it's considered a questionable treatment.)

Etymology:  From Czech, napravit, to correct.  (Dr. Smith formed part of his theories while traveling in Czechoslovakia, based on practices there.)

I learned this word while working on the family history.  A few years ago, Mom gave me a small painting, and a letter.  The painting was done by "Grandma Kelley" (no relation), of Kelley Canning Co., in the 1930s, and given to my uncle when he was nine years old.  My mom and my uncle had watched her paint when they were young.  One of the woman's daughters was Dr. Ruth Perrow; according to the letter, my mother's mother went to Dr. Perrow for "adjustments".

Thanks to online archives of the Iowa Legislature, I found the below bill from 1933, legalizing the practice and naming Dr. Perrow.


[identity profile] nerdfury.livejournal.com
Slightly late, my apologies. As you should all expect, here's some words without English equivalents!


Toska
Russian
Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”

Jayus
Indonesian
A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh

Litost
Czech
The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery.
Kyoikumama
Japanese
A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement.


So in sad news, our own [livejournal.com profile] imifumei has sent me a message to advise that she has taken a job overseas, and will no longer be able to post. Sad to see you go, but it was great having you! You'll always be welcome back if you want. :D

Now, you might have noticed a bit of a lack of posting of late. I can hardly speak, since I've had some issues catching up, but there seems to be only three regular posters now. I admity I've been remiss myself, and might not have seen if anyone's posted about needing to take a break or quit, so I'm not sure where all the posters stand. Do we have any new volunteers to help pick up the slack?

Let me know!

[identity profile] nerdfury.livejournal.com
It's still Sunday somewhere, right? Possibly, I dunno, Betelgeuse?

More Words With No English Equivalent (Until Someone Inevitably Comments To Provide One):

Cotisuelto (Caribbean Spanish) 
One who wears the shirt tail outside of his trousers, often in a negative light for a poor fashion trend.

Pana Po’o (Hawaiian) 
To scratch your head in order to help you remember something you’ve forgotten.

Gumusservi (Turkish) 
Moonlight shining on water.

Vybafnout (Czech) 
To jump out and say boo in order to scare someone.

Mencolek (Indonesian) 
To play a trick whereby you tap someone lightly on the opposite shoulder from behind to fool them.


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