larboard

So you know how the two side of a boat are port and starboard? And you know how there's an urban myth that the word "posh" (origins obscure, apparently) originated from boats travelling from England to India, from the idea that the best cabins were "Port Out Starboard Home"?

Okay. Well this myth (and in fact the word "posh" itself) only originates from the late 1800s. So does this mean that "port" was only used to describe the left side of a boat from then onwards, and that there used to be another word for this originally?

In one of those beautiful realisations of how language reshapes and reforms itself, I give you the original, stupid word for port, and you'll see immediately why it was so easily replaced with a different one:

larboard n archaic port Penguin Pocket, 2004

Larboard? Very sensible. Doesn't sound at all similar to / interchangeable with starboard.

Dictionary.com suggests its origin as 1300–50; ME laddeborde (perh. lit., loading side); later larborde (by analogy with starboard). It also suggests that port's origin as "the left side of a vessel" was in 1570-80. Taking this idea of a loading side/harbour wall side/seaport/port side, it certainly makes sense that "port" took over gradually from "larboard" to be a clearer version of the same thing.

However, the implication as I see it is that between c. 1300 and the late 1500s, our sailors had to spend over 200 years having this kind of conversation:

Captain: Turn to starboard.
1st Mate: Larboard?
Captain: Starboard.
1st Mate: Larboard?
Captain: STARBOARD!
1st Mate: LARBOARD?
etc.

Well done the English language. You only had to confuse us for 250 years before we decided it might be prudent to change one of the words.

roquelaure

No reason for this really, other than rather liking the sound of it:

roquelaure n a man's knee-length cloak worn in the 18c and early 19c. [Origin from French, after the Duc de Roquelaure (1656-1738)] Chambers, 1998

I can find very little information about the Duc online except a note on wikipedia saying that he shared his family's reputation for wit but was militarily incapable. Perhaps that's why he spent his time getting cloaks named after him?

turpitude

Another quickie:

turpitude n formal baseness, depravity or wickedness. Penguin Pocket, 2004

This seemed like a suitably un-festive/post-festive word to be learning.

adumbrate

adumbrate v formal to outline broadly without details; to foreshadow vaguely. Penguin Pocket, 2004

So this is the opposite to the Back to the Future method, where there's not a single image or scrap of dialogue that does not directly feed into the tightly structured narrative? I think generally it just means imprecise foreshadowing, creating an atmosphere without being specific about the details.

Again, feel like I should already know this one.

fillip

Just a quick one today, something I feel much in need of after the traditional Christmas drain:

fillip n a boost or stimulus Penguin Pocket, 2004

rumbustious

A quick poll at this end reveals that I seem to be one of the few people who doesn't already know this word. Another clue to its common usage came when I saw it was the first of the 100 Words blogger already knew how to spell. However I'm lobbing it up anyway, even though it's not very rare, as the point for me is to learn new words. In any case, it's another lovely excitable word and I think I'll allow myself one more day of festive spirit:

rumbustious adj irrepressibly exuberant Penguin Pocket, 2004

Lovely.

rident

Well, it's Christmas Day for the 25th day of this endeavour, so I've picked out a nice, happy word to learn. I'm half-Italian, so I recognise the word from the Italian "ridere", to laugh. The definition says this word is normally of literary use, but I would like to see it used more frequently:

rident (literary) adj laughing or smiling radiantly, beaming. [Origin from Latin ridens, -entis, pr p of ridere to laugh] Chambers, 1998

The "ri" rhymes with "wide", and I hope your Christmas Day is full of rident faces. Merry Christmas!

jirble

This seems like another appropriate word for the festive season, pronounced like the ratty animal:

jirble (Scot) vt and vi to pour splashingly or unsteadily. Chambers, 1998

That'll be me tomorrow, jirbling the brandy onto the Christmas pudding, onto the plate, into my mouth... I'm just following Santa's lead.

flimp

Ooh, I knew there must have been a specific word for this:

flimp (slang) vt to rob (someone) while a partner hustles. [Compare with Flemish flimpe to knock or rob] Chambers, 1998

The moral is: keep your eyes on your valuables lest ye get flimped good and proper.

duumvir

This looks Dutch to me at first glance, but it originates from Latin:

duumvir n one of two men associated in the same office or post - pl duumvirs or duumviri - adj duumviral - n duumvirate an association of two men in one office or post; a government by duumvirs. [Origin from Latin duumviri, for duoviri, from duo two, and vir a man] Chambers, 1998

For two men associated in the same post, I want to suggest a pair like Reeves and Mortimer, but I suppose it should be men who have the exact same post, like multiple editors in a publishing house or salespeople in a shop. The "du" rhymes with "moo", so it's pronounced "doo-um-vir".

Of course, it comes from the Latin word for "man" and there is no female equivalent for this word: no "duumfemina" or "duummulier", for example. It'd be interesting to look in a more recent dictionary to see if this word has been gender-neutralised yet. I'm presuming it would be, much as something like "chairman" is referred to as a person of either gender.

I do like this word though. It sounds almost clownish: "This is Bob. He's my favourite duumvir". I wonder if I could stretch the definition to apply to siblings or other relations over the coming festive period?