deliquium means liquefaction through absorption of moisture from the air. It carries an Arena rating of 1538, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, deliquium ranks #1,027 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,105 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,561 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,658 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
Why “deliquium” is a great word
A faint or swoon, or a languid, maudlin mood. From the Latin dēliquium ("a failing, eclipse, swoon"), from dēlinquere ("to fail, be lacking"). Unlike "syncope," a clinical term for loss of consciousness, or "lassitude," a steady weariness, deliquium is a dissolution, a yielding of the self. It is the overheated drawing-room swoon onto a chaise longue, the melancholic’s tears dissolving into evening sherry, the candle’s flame guttering into a pool of wax—the sweet, dangerous surrender of a self that has decided, for a moment, not to hold.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin deliquium, from Latin delinquere (“to lack, to fail”).
noun
- Liquefaction through absorption of moisture from the air.
- An abrupt loss of consciousness usually caused by an insufficient blood flow to the brain; fainting.e.g.“If he be locked in a close room, he is afraid of being stifled for want of air, and still carries biscuit, aquavitæ, or some strong waters about him, for fear of deliquiums, or being sick […]” — 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 387:
- A languid, maudlin mood.
- An abrupt absence of sunlight, e.g. caused by an eclipse.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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