Sunday, September 6, 2009

Obstrigillate

Meet Obstrigillate!
It's a word I adopted through save the words which is an initiative of Oxford English Dictionary for saving words that are slowly falling into oblivion.
Being a philologist, a teacher, a spinner of tales and a lover of the written word I simply could not ignore the appeal and became a word saviour. They offer adoption of words which I was amazed to find they exist and some I did not know even how to pronounce. However, if you like the idea and would like to join this cause then simply visit save the words and save a word.

Obstrigillate is a verb and it means 'to oppose', 'to resist'.
I also received this cute certificate to witness the adoption.
The certificate states that I 'solemnly promise to use this word as frequently as possible from this day forth in conversation and correspondence and to the best of my ability'.
As you see I respect my part of the deal. This post is the witness of my first use of this word.
P.S. If you try to find this word in the dictionary your efforts will be fruitless. At least mine were - I couldn't find it in any of the popular online dictionaries. If I am wrong, you are welcome to correct me and obstrigillate my statement!

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