Marmoreal

My guess is that marmoreal refers to a person who is particularly bendy. Your invented suggestions for a meaning for marmoreal are very welcome. I look forward to being amused.

Teleology

I love teleology - and I never knew it until now. That's the wonders of dictionary reading for you. Teleology is the belief that everything has a predetermined purpose. I agree wholeheartedly. My anonymous commenters were vying for the top honours on this one, with the winner being... wait for it... Anonymous with this invented meaning for teleology: "A study into gaining supernatural powers like teleport, telepathy and telekinetic." Thanks for your contribution(s) Anonymous.

Viburnum

A viburnum is actually a subtropical flowering shrub which produces berry like fruits. My dictionary doesn't clarify whether these fruits are edible or deadly. Thanks to those who ventured into their creative genius to suggest invented meanings for viburnum. Guardian Etland is the winner with this concoction: The scientific term for the type of catastrophic resonance that brought down the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. When crossing a footbridge soldiers are ordered to break step to avoid such resonance developing.

equipoise

Equipoise is perfect balance, which is pretty much what it sounds like. Some of the word imps came up with meanings that were eerily close to the truth, but more poetic than the dictionary meaning. Today's winner is Toeknee Chestnut who suggested the following:

"Equipoise is the art of maintaining a very still position for long periods of time. The best place to see equipoise in action is the street performers who paint their skin, usually gold or silver, wear clothes to match their skin paint, assume a position and don't move. People passing by stop and try to figure out if it a person or a statue."

Nonage

Nonage is a time of immaturity or being under the legal age. As predicted, the invented meanings for nonage were far more spectacular. I couldn't pick between two winners today - so congratulations to Hey Jude and Dog Mum. I hope you don't mind sharing the accolade! Here are their excellent entries which made me giggle out loud...

Hey Jude said...Nonage is the age, or state you enter when you become a grandmother. Grandfathers enter the state of popage.

Dog Mum said...Nonage is what you have when you don't have a cleavage.

Sybarite

Ooh, I just found out that I'm a sybarite without even knowing it! A sybarite, I have discovered, is a lover of luxury. I am certainly one of those. My luxurious moments are few and far between, but always enjoyed. Thanks for entering with your invented meanings for sybarite. I enjoyed them all.

Jeremy with lot of numbers after his name is today's winner: "A sybarite is a generic term for an evil android, usually from the future. This term is useful when the Earth is being invaded by evil androids, and it is unclear whether they are Terminators, Replicants, Cylons, etc."

Isinglass

An isinglass is a gelatine which is found in some freshwater fish. Rather a boring meaning and nowhere near as interesting as my own invented meaning. However, I didn't think I could choose my own meaning as the winner. Instead, I have chosen the well thought out suggestion of Anonymous who said:

"Isinglass (Ising-Lass). This is the term used to refer to a young lady that comes from the town of Ising. People from the town of Ising have a habit of running alltheirworsdtogetherwhentheyspeakwhichmakesitveryhardforanyo..."

Burnous

A burnous is a long circular cloak with a hood. Sounds gorgeous, doesn't it? The burnous I pictured in my mind is red with white velvet on the collar and cuffs... However, I digress. And my dictionary would disagree with my vision because it says that a burnous is a garment particularly worn by Arabs. I'm sure they're hot enough without adding velvet cuffs to their ensembles.

The invented meanings for burnous were well thought out and enjoyable. I have decided that today's winner will be Hey Jude, for the following little offering:

A burnous is a traditional Himalayan walking stick, used to assist the native people when climbing in the Himalayas. The most famous burnous is the one Sherpa Tensing used when he accompanied Hillary on the successful expedition of Mt Everest, when they "knocked the bastard off".

Furze

Furze is very simple and not at all French or cuddly, I'm sad to say. It is apparently another name for that scourge of New Zealand farmland - gorse! So there's something new for me. I enjoyed the meanings created by those word imps who are still active and debated long and hard about a winner.

The chosen one was Laura, for her very elaborate and well planned meaning. Read on:

Furze: A rare dog breed with its origins in Sweden. The Furze breed is characteristic for a dog which is born with tufted clumps of fur but gradually loses these clumps by the time they are 18 months, leaving the dog virtually hairless.

The shed clumps of Furze fur are usually collected and woven into a type of yarn that is mainly used for rugs, due to it's water resistant properties. This is why many people familiar with the word Furze, mistake Furze as type of rug, when in reality it is what the rug is made from.