Wednesday 27 April 2016

Protractile

My tongue is protractile. I'd stick it and prove it, but that'd be rude, so here's a tulip instead.

The term usually refers to body parts and simply means they can be extended or protruded. Another word for the same thing is protrusible.

Which do you like best - protractile or protrusible?

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Undulatory

Undulatory is a great word, isn't it? It means undulating or wavy, or due to undulation. And undulation means a wavy motion or a gentle rise and fall.

There are days when my hair is as undulatory as this wave lapping gently against the breakwater.


Wednesday 13 April 2016

Wellnigh

Wellnigh is an old fashioned word meaning almost. It's most often used in the phrase 'wellnigh impossible'.

It's wellnigh impossible to keep finding excuses to post pictures from my travels - but somehow I manage it!

Update - The concise Oxford dictionary gives this as one word, but other places list it as two, or even hyphenate it. All variants seem to have the same meaning. Nigh on its own means near.