flocculent

It's possible I've seen this word before, but it's a funny word, so I'll post it anyway.

It turns out that the word "flock" can be a synonym for "floc." Which I don't think I've encountered before. And "floc" is short for "floccule," which I'm almost certain I've never encountered before.

And "floc" / "floccule" is defined as:

"a flocculent mass."

"Flocculent." It sounds vaguely obscene, and vaguely absurd. I like it a lot better than that Simpsons word with a vaguely similar sound, "cromulent." (Yes, yes, everyone get it out of your system by saying it in unison: "It's a perfectly cromulent word!" Now can we move on?)

Sadly, "flocculent" turns out to have a more mundane meaning than it sounds like it should have. MW11 says it means:

1: resembling wool especially in loose fluffy organization

2: [taking] the form of loosely aggregated particles or soft flakes

Between the loose fluffy organization, the loosely aggregated particles, and the soft flakes, it sounds a lot like my blogs. Perhaps I'll adopt "flocculent" as this blog's official adjective. Kind of like having a state bird.

3 Responses to “flocculent”

  1. Shmuel

    When I saw this, my thoughts went to floccinaucinihilipilification (“the action or habit of estimating as worthless”), one of the contenders for the title of Longest Word in the English Language. It turns out that there is a slight connection here, with floccus (a bit of wool) being used idiomatically as something worthless.

    On an unrelated note, after following several links from there, I ended up at Snowclone, which was new to me, and seems a nifty and useful word.

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  2. Shmuel

    (Any chance of digging my previous comment out of the junk bin?)

    reply
  3. John Schoffstall

    This word, and related words (‘flocculated’) come up sometimes in medicine and biology. In particular, laboratory tests that involve antigen/antibody reactions often produce a flocculated precipitate as a positive reaction. In the (bad) old days, pregnancy tests in the ER or doctor’s office were done this way. Flocculated precipitate: preggers. None: not preggers.

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