Because it’s archaic, as I said; ie not a currently used word. If I do add it, it’ll be closer to front-page day in case there are other changes needed to the quiz. Making multiple edits to the quiz in one go is better than making regular changes as complaints come in.
I'm not arguing one way or the other, but I tried Somnambulator as well. I knew the verb "(to) somnambulate", but didn't know the noun form and took a guess...
I'd say "The noun" is somnambulist. You could argue whether or not to use words that are not in use anymore. (it can give quite a bit of difficulties in a spelling quiz, since nearly (Alternative forms; nerely, nerly, neerely, nearely (all obsolete)) every word used to be spelled differently.)
But I just did some research (since I had never heard of somnambulator) and found this; "OED's only evidence for somnambulator is from 1822, in the writing of Prichard." And also according to ngram it is basically non-existent. Which made me question if it ever was really a word.
But after some more digging I found one earlier use (The life or Charles Brockden Brown, 1814) Also a few more later ones, though they all were just quoting Prichard (a treatise on the diseases of the nervous system).
At some point, the word did start to show up in medical dictionary (first still mentioning Prichard "Worchester, 1860" but after about 1900 there are some without source )
In short, at one point it actually was a word since it showed up in dictionaries of the time (pointing you to somnambulist, or mentioning "rare" like in Allen's synonyms and antonyms, 1921), However I have only found 2 original sources for the word, the rest is just referring back to the original use. So even at a time when it was not archaic the use seems to have been limited.
From Merriam Webster: "NOTE: The use of nonplussed to mean "unimpressed" is an Americanism that has become increasingly common in recent decades and now appears frequently in published writing. It apparently arose from confusion over the meaning of nonplussed in ambiguous contexts, and it continues to be widely regarded as an error."
Agreed, these are brilliant and should all be featured. Today I learnt about the comic strip character Milquetoast. Nonchalant is perfect how it is - nonplussed means confused. Obtuse (outside of the Shawshank Redemption at least) means an angle between 90 and 180 degrees
Shawshank is correct. Obtuse comes from the Latin word obtusus, meaning "blunted or dull." Its figurative definition of "stupid, not acutely sensitive or perceptive" has been in use since approximately 1500, while the geometric definition you mention dates to around 1560.
As far as I'm concerned I see "obtuse" meaning "stupid" considerably more often than with the angular meaning. I do probably read too much Billy Bunter though.
Well crap. Here I was starting to get annoyed that "jejeune" wasn't accepted, only to learn that I have been spelling that word wrong for the entire 46 years of my life.
There's my learning for today!
(In my defence, I first learned the word as a schoolchild when I was in a French school, and in French the word is indeed spelled with that extra "e." I just never noticed that it wasn't in English. But still.)
Like you I only discovered "jejeune" isn't the right word a year or two ago, but I am obviously considerably more cleverer than you because I was a youthful 42 or 43 or something. So there.
I remember someone wishing my mother a "corpulent son-in-law". He was not a native English speaker and I think to him the word denoted a man of substance and wealth.
I got 13/20, not bad for a "foreigner" :) (average is 10 atm). Least guessed one I got was the sleepwalker, I did try a few spellings for the skip one, but didn't manage to get it correct.
But I just did some research (since I had never heard of somnambulator) and found this; "OED's only evidence for somnambulator is from 1822, in the writing of Prichard." And also according to ngram it is basically non-existent. Which made me question if it ever was really a word.
But after some more digging I found one earlier use (The life or Charles Brockden Brown, 1814) Also a few more later ones, though they all were just quoting Prichard (a treatise on the diseases of the nervous system).
At some point, the word did start to show up in medical dictionary (first still mentioning Prichard "Worchester, 1860" but after about 1900 there are some without source )
Here is the ngram btw
It was an interesting rabbit hole :) most of the morning gone already haha. Better point my attention elsewhere now :)
emphasis mine.
There's my learning for today!
(In my defence, I first learned the word as a schoolchild when I was in a French school, and in French the word is indeed spelled with that extra "e." I just never noticed that it wasn't in English. But still.)