N is for Nudiustertian

I always seem to remember where I learn words as an adult I hadn’t known before.

apollo11-yesterday-03Nudiustertian pertaining to the day before yesterday; it has nothing to do with strippers and nakedness. I’ve also discovered that, in the same linguistic family, hesternal relates to yesterday, and hodiernal pertains to today.

“The OED goes on to gives its only example of the use of the word in a sentence from 1647, taken from the ever-popular The simple cobler of Aggawam in America, written by Nathaniel Ward. ‘When I heare a‥Gentledame inquire‥what [is] the nudiustertian fashion of the Court; I mean the very newest.'”

I love such specific words. I also like this one, which is similar in intent: antepenultimate means “last but two in a series; third last. ‘The antepenultimate item on the agenda…'” Chapter 8 in a ten-chapter book also qualifies.

Somehow, I had not known the word penultimate, meaning next to last, until I had read it in an intro to the comic book Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini. #19 was the penultimate issue of the original series, which means that #18 was the antepenultimate one.

I always seem to remember where I learn words as an adult I hadn’t known before. The word ersatz means “(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.” I first saw it in a book about albums by the Beatles, plus the solo works. Ringo’s Goodnight Vienna, which features contributions of the other three on various tracks, was described as an “ersatz Beatles album.”

abc15

ABC Wednesday, Round 15

Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

23 thoughts on “N is for Nudiustertian”

  1. Now that’s one I’ve never heard. Thanks for the lesson…now to use it in a sentence. I’ll first have to practice saying it with the correct pronunciation…

  2. For some reason I always enjoy using the word penultimate, possibly because it holds the excitement that a series is building to its finale and now you have provided me antepenultimate. I now look forward to using the word which I suspect may be the current series of Dr Who that is showing in the UK.

  3. Always an education stopping off here. You never go for the obvious choice and I leave knowing something new. That’s always a good thing.

  4. Complicated! I was very surprised to find the German word «Ersatz» in the English language, translated it means «replacement».

  5. the word and its meaning are definitely far apart – farther than the day before yesterday. And I had to look for a word for ‘day after tomorrow’ -found only one reference to overmorrow:)
    Thank you ROG for these new words (love them all)

  6. I feel cheated!!!

    I’ve always thought penultimate was a strange word but I liked it. I’m not sure that I’ll be using your new word.

  7. My first visit to your blog. Very entertaining and informative. Nudiustertian sounds like a plant, perhaps a leafless geranium or an extraterrestial being, without skin or feathers. Or an inhabitant of the planet Nudius?

  8. I almost thought Nudiustertian was a handle used one of your readers who like to comment, like Uthaclena or Jaquandor. Well, it oughta be. And it probably will be.

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