Interesting Word Bank

A

AGRIZOOPHOBIA - a fear of wild animals.

AILUROPHOBIA - a fear of cats.

ALEKTOROPHOBIA - a fear of chickens.

ANAPTYXIS - the insertion of a vowel between two consonants to aid punctuation.

ANEMOLOGY - the study of  the movement of the wind. 

ANTHROPHOBIA - a fear of flowers.

ASTRAPHOBIA - a fear of lightning.

B

BIDON - a water bottle that clips to a bicycle frame, to allow the rider easy access to refreshment.

BRONTOPHOBIA - a fear of thunder

C

CAMPANILE - an Italian bell tower.

CHURRASCO - the Portugese word for grilling meat.

CLAVICLE - the scientific name for the collar bone.

COUPE - a chilled dish of fruit and icecream / a car with a fold-down top.

CRANIUM - the scientific name for the skull bone.

CYNOPHOBIA - a fear of dogs.

D 

DACTYLOLOGY - the study of fingerprints.

DELIQUESCE - Melt.

DENDROLOGY - the study of woody plants such as trees and shrubs.

DODECAGON - a twelve sided shape.   It also has an interesting fact attached to it. It was on this day (25th August 1969) that Australia's 50 cent piece went from being round to having 12 sides.

DROMOPHOBIA - a fear of crossing the road.

E

EINSTEINIUM - the chemical element with the atomic number 99.

ENTOMOPHOBIA - a fear of insects.

ENUMERATOR - A person employed for the taking of a census.

ERSATZ - a substitute, usually of inferior quality. 

F

FLUGELHORN - a brass, valved musical instrument, similar to a cornet, except that it has a broader tone.

FLUORINE - the chemical element with the atomic number 9.

FLUVIOMETER - an instrument for measuring the rise and fall of rivers.

G

GABERDINE - a closely woven twill fabric.

GRISAILLE - a method of painting in grey monochrome. It is often used to imitate sculptures.

H

HELIOTROPISM - The directional growth of a plant in response to sunlight.

HIPPOPHOBIA - a fear of horses.

HOLMIUM - a soft, silvery metal. It is one of the chemical elements and has the atomic number 67.

HOMICHLOPHOBIA - a fear of fog.

HYPOTAXIS - the subordination of one clause to another.

I

ICHTHYPOHOBIA - a fear of fish.

IMBROGLIO - a complicated or confused situation.

INTRAPRENEUR - a company employee responsible for developing new and innovative products.

IRUKANDJI - the common name for the box jellyfish Carukia barnesi that lives in tropical Australian waters.

ISOCHEIM - a line on a map which connects places which have the same average temperature in winter.

J

JARGONELLE - a variety of pear.

JOJOBA -  a plant with the botanical name Simmondsia chinensis. It produces an oil used in cosmetics.

JOCULAR - another word for cheerful.

K

KINCOB - a rich Indian fabric embroidered with silver or gold.

KRYPTON - the chemical element with the atomic number 36.

KYMOGRAPH - an instrument for recording variations of pressure, eg. blood.

L

LACUNA - an empty page in a book or manuscript.

LAPIDARY - engraving on stone.

LIMNOLOGY - the study of inland waters (lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands).

LUSTREWARE - ceramics that have been finished with an iridescent glaze.

M

MANDIBLE - the scientific name for the lower jaw bone. 

MARTINGALE - a strap fastened to a horse's noseband and girth to prevent it from rearing.

MAXILLA - the scientific name for the upper jaw bone.

N

NEPHOLOGY - The study of clouds and cloud formations.

NEPTUNIUM - the chemical element with the atomic number 93.

NEROLI - an essential oil derived from the flowers of the Seville orange.

NOCTURNE - a short musical composition of a romantic nature.

O

ONEIROMANCY - the interpretation of dreams.

OSSICLES - the three tiny bones found in your middle ear.  In fact, they are the smallest bones in the human body. They are also referred to by their (Latin) names of malleus, incus and stapes. The ossicle bones received these names because of their shapes.  They are also referred to as the hammer, anvil and stirrup.

OSTRACONOPHOBIA - a fear of shellfish.

P

PAINTER - a person who paints / a rope that is attached to the bow of a boat, so that it can be tied to a quay.

PATELLA - the scientific name for the knee cap bone.

PELOTON - the main field of a group of cyclists in a race.

PERIHELION - the point of a comet or planet's orbit nearest the sun's centre.

PISCICULTURE - the artificial rearing of fish.

PLUVIOMETER - another word for rain gauge.

POLYGLOT - a person who can speak or write in several languages.

PSEPHOLOGY - the statistical study of elections and voting.

PUNNET - a small, light container designed to hold fruit such as strawberries.

PURLIN - an horizontal beam along the length of a roof.

Q

QUINCUNX - five objects that are positioned so that four are at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at the centre. It's a common pattern for tree planting.

QUINTAL - a weight of 100kg.

R

RAMEKIN - an individual serving dish for soups and casseroles.

RHODOCHROSITE - a mineral form of manganese carbonite consisting of red rose crystals.

S

SCAPULA - the scientific name for the shoulder bone.

SELACOPHOBIA - a fear of sharks.

SERIGRAPH - a colour print that has been made by the silk-screen process and printed personally by the artist.

SESQUIPEDALIAN - a word with many syllables.

SIDERODROMOPHOBIA - It is a fear of trains, railways and train travel.

SIPE - a groove or channel in the tread of a tyre to improve its grip.

SMITHEREENS - little fragments.

SNAPDRAGON - a plant of the genus Antirrhinum.

STARGAZER - a word often associated with astronomy, however, it is also a term for a horse that turns its head when galloping.

T

TALUS - the scientific name for the ankle bone.

TAUROPHOBIA - a fear of bulls.

TUQUE - a knitted cap worn in Canada.

V

VEXILLOLOGY - the study of flags.

VIBRISSAE - the term for a cat's whiskers.

VOLCANOLOGY- the study of volcanoes.

W

WENIS -  the patch of rough skin on the outside of the elbow.

Z 

ZABAGLIONE - an Italian dessert, a mixture of heated and whipped egg yolks, sugar and Marsala.

ZOOPHOBIA - a fear of animals.

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