I learnt new words today :)

1. Cryptomnesia - [from Wiki because Dictionary.com doesn't have it]

Cryptomnesia, or "concealed recollection," is a theoretical phenomenon involving suppressed or "forgotten" memories. It refers to cases where a person believes he or she is creating or inventing something new, such as a story, poem, artwork, or joke, but is actually recalling a similar or identical work previously encountered. According to the theory of cryptomnesia, the person is not engaging in plagiarism, but is rather experiencing a memory as if it were inspiration. Proponents of the cryptomnesia phenomenon believe it may be a means of recalling to mind certain experiences that one otherwise would not remember.

2. Petrichor - [Also from Wiki because Dictionary.com doesn't have it]

Petrichor (from Greek petros, "stone" + ichor) is the name of the scent of rain on dry earth. The scent is generally regarded as pleasant and refreshing, and is one of the most frequently cited "favorite smells". In desert regions, the smell is especially strong during the first rain after a long dry spell.

3. Proprioception

The unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. In humans, these stimuli are detected by nerves within the body itself, as well as by the semicircular canals of the inner ear.

4. Floccinaucinihilipilification [whatever the f that was]

An act or instance of judging something to be worthless or trivial. [And you need 12 syllables/29 letters just to mean that. Oh well still not as long as hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.]

5. Erythrismal

Actual entry in Dictionary.com is 'erythrism': abnormal redness, as of plumage or hair.


For more words, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7659954.stm :)

Oh and this would probably help too.


Edit: Here's one more interesting word that i came across in my Psychology class a week or two ago :)

e·go·cen·tric [ee-goh-sen-trik, eg-oh-]
–adjective
1.
having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things: an egocentric philosophy that ignores social causes.
2.
having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own; self-centered: an egocentric person; egocentric demands upon the time and patience of others