Uncle Truman's Lexical Amplifier #2: valetudinarianism

[barnabas_truman]

Good evening, and welcome back to Uncle Truman's Lexical Amplifier! Here you will find words that, in my opinion, are not used nearly as much as they ought to be. Your job is to look up each such word in your favorite real* dictionary, read and contemplate its definition, and post a response to this episode which includes
1) an amusing or insightful sentence of your own composing which uses this word, and
2) another word, with definition, that you have found in your dictionary whilst looking up the original word.




Today's word is: valetudinarianism.

In spite of his frequent absences, it seemed that the only affliction that plagued him was valetudinarianism.




* By "real dictionary" I mean any dictionary which can be used to incapacitate a burglar. (Be creative.)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

So does the OED no longer count as a "real dictionary" because it is only published in electronic form these days?

[barnabas-truman.livejournal.com]

I said be creative. :-)

[temperance14.livejournal.com]

Oh hell--I think I know this one, and I found it last year in one of the "Sketches by Boz"!

Back later....perhaps with a quote.
(Much later, really)

[barnabas-truman.livejournal.com]

I found it recently in "The Sign of the Four." Great story, that.

[(Anonymous)]

Hm, a vegetarian who works part time as valet parking attendant?
Sentence: She often missed work, but it was only due to valetudinarianism. Or perhaps hypochodriatism.
New word: vanaspati Oh look, a vanaspati! Quick, grab some of the oil for our naan tonight!

[serendipity17.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, Indian health news links increased risk of heart disease to the frequent use of vanaspati; I presume it's rather high in trans-fats.

[serendipity17.livejournal.com]

Mr. Woodhouse found that gruel was the perfect accompaniment to his valetudinarianism, and frequently recommended the dish to his friends and family.

W is the twenty-third letter of the alphabet.