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#145876 08/01/05 11:33 PM
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tsuwm Offline OP
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the worthless word for the day is: nelipot

[fr. Gk. nelipous (nelipodos): unshod, barefooted]
/NEL i pot//
someone who walks about barefooted

http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=metawords&Number=137329




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Well, that was very interesting; thank you. Must say I like piepowder* better: that and wayzgoose are my two favorite words I have learned here.

*Edit--piepowder means dusty-footed; not exactly the same, I know. But likely, nonetheless, imho!

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nelipot is a pretty obscure word (sounds like baby's gibberish!), where did you find it?
It's definitely not in the average dictionary - only in a special glossary for obscure and bizar words!

Also, since barefoot is an adjective I don't think it can have a past tense (i.e. "barefooted"?)


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tsuwm Offline OP
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>since barefoot is an adjective I don't think it can have a past tense

barefoot \-fut\ or barefooted \-fu-ted\ adverb or adjective (bef. 12c)
: with the feet bare <went barefoot most of the summer> <barefoot boy, with cheek of tan J. G. Whittier>


(C) 1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated


nelipot is in Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary, but I never found confirmation of it (I think inclusion in those online obscure wordlists is due to her) until jheem found the Greek root word(s) [see link, above].


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> It's definitely not in the average dictionary - only in a special glossary for obscure and bizar words!

I think you'll find the threader has a little background in that field ;-) I'm a bit of a nelipot myself by the way, but after recently standing on a bee in the park I suddenly find wearing shoes in the summer more appealing!


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I still can't make out an example where I can only use "barefooted" as opposed to "barefoot"


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Heh heh, you would if you lived in the SE U.S., Logwood--I've heard barefooted all my life. Welcome aBoard.


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tsuwm Offline OP
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go to Google[News] and search for barefooted; you'll see lots of recent examples, in some of which the "past tense" of the adverb just seems to work better with the past tense of the verb.

or try this on for size: )

"The barefootedness of the ___ argument, which insinuates that running away will save the ship’s rats, is revealed by two sets of facts pointing to one conclusion..."



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Lovely word. At first I read it as "melipot" and thought "here comes Pooh Bear" .

I guess a nelipot Pooh could well sneak up on an unsuspecting melipot.


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Here's a lesson for me - never argue with a Carpal Tunnel!

By the way, in alternatives for "barefootedness" I had found "surefootedness", meaning "confidence" or "ability to walk without stumbling". How about that? I always looked for an eccentric synonym for confidence.

Gramercy for the welcome!


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