{"id":70167,"date":"2016-08-15T15:31:08","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T14:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/new-words-things-dont-name\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:27:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:27:16","slug":"new-words-things-dont-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/new-words-things-dont-name\/","title":{"rendered":"New words for things that don\u2019t have a name – but should"},"content":{"rendered":"

The publication of the first Roald Dahl dictionary<\/a>, packed with evocative neologisms and onomatopoeic nonsense words, has got the Stratton Craig crew misty-eyed for times gone by. As writers it\u2019s a stark reminder that English is an ever-evolving language packed with near-limitless creative potential, including lots of ways to invent new words<\/a>.
\nPast creations<\/strong>
\nSome beautiful-sounding words have been coined over the years \u2013 like petrichor, invented in 1964 to describe the smell of rain on hot ground, by combining the Greek words \u2018Petra\u2019 (meaning stone) and \u2018ichor\u2019 (meaning the blood of the gods and goddesses). Vellichor is a similar word for the strange wistfulness of second-hand book stores. Sonder, from 2012, is the momentary realisation that every stranger you pass has a life as vivid and complex as your own.
\nWe wrote earlier this year about how English is learning to express itself<\/a> by pinching words from other languages, but English is also one of the greatest exporters of newly-coined words in the Internet age. Linguists at the \u00c1rni Magn\u00fasson Institute for Icelandic Studies continually invent beautiful new words<\/a> to prevent things like \u2018selfie\u2019, \u2018manspreading\u2019 and \u2018bae\u2019 from casually creeping into Icelandic. Back in 1964 they created t\u00f6lva\u2014combining tala (number) and v\u00f6lva (prophetess) \u2013 which is a beautifully poetic way to describe a computer.
\nFlexing our neologistic muscles<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a bit of stretch for us to come up with names for things that haven\u2019t been invented yet, but what would the Stratton Craig Institute for Outstanding English come up with for those niggling things that don\u2019t have a proper name, like the cupboard under the stairs?
\nInspiration comes more easily than you might think. The Welsh border is only a short drive from our Bristol office, so with the knowledge that a cupboard under the stairs is called a \u2018cwtch\u2019 just 18 miles away \u2013 and knowing that cwtch is also used for a cuddle, because it means \u2018hold and make safe\u2019 \u2013 we\u2019ve come up with huggin.
\nPortmanteaus<\/a> are an even easier way to create new words, compounding two familiar utterances to create something new. Anyone can create one, and they\u2019re some of the easiest to remember (so they enter popular use more easily). That\u2019s why most of us have heard of a staycation, jeggings and frenemies.
\nA quick bash in the office has come up with a few good ones. That feeling when you realise you\u2019ve run out of loo roll? Andrexiety. Unidentified vermin raiding your trash can? That\u2019s a binvader. A late-night taxi after one-too-many cocktails is an Uberlance.
\nYour turn<\/strong>
\nWhat would you come up with? We want a word for the sleepy feeling you get after lunch (a familiar sensation in the Stratton Craig office); a way of describing the inside of your elbow without using the word \u2018pit\u2019; and something that better describes food envy while encompassing the sense of regret at one\u2019s own poor choice.
\nSuggestions welcome on Twitter @strattoncraig<\/a> or in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The publication of the first Roald Dahl dictionary, packed with evocative neologisms and onomatopoeic nonsense words, has got the Stratton Craig crew misty-eyed for times gone by. As writers it\u2019s a stark reminder that English is an ever-evolving language packed with near-limitless creative potential, including lots of ways to invent new words. Past creations Some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[602],"class_list":["post-70167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us","tag-roald-dahl-dictionary-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew words for things that don\u2019t have a name - but should - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/new-words-things-dont-name\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New words for things that don\u2019t have a name - but should - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The publication of the first Roald Dahl dictionary, packed with evocative neologisms and onomatopoeic nonsense words, has got the Stratton Craig crew misty-eyed for times gone by. 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