supernaculum
/ˌs(j)uː.pəˈnæ.kjə.ləm/
supernaculum means according to the rules of an old drinking game in which the drinker upturned the empty cup and had to drink more if the remaining droplets spilled beyond the edge of his fingernail. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 99 out of 100.
supernaculum is pronounced /ˌs(j)uː.pəˈnæ.kjə.ləm/.
Why “supernaculum” is a great word
SUPERNACULUM — [Adverb] To drink a cup of wine so completely that only a bead remains upon the upturned fingernail. A pseudo-Latin coinage from Latin super ("upon") and a Latinized form of German Nagel ("nail"), intended to mean "upon the nail," after the German phrase auf den Nagel (trinken). Unlike "exhaustively," which implies methodical thoroughness, or "libation," which denotes a sacred offering, supernaculum is a secular, performative act of perfect personal consumption. It is the final, theatrical tilt of the glass, the solitary droplet trembling on the thumbnail’s moon, and the faint, clean ring of the empty vessel—a fleeting, perfected ceremony in a world of careless spillage.
Etymology
Pseudo-Latinism from super- + naculum, nagulum, Latinized form of German Nagel, intended to mean “upon the nail”, after the German phrase auf den Nagel (trinken).
adv
- According to the rules of an old drinking game in which the drinker upturned the empty cup and had to drink more if the remaining droplets spilled beyond the edge of his fingernail.
- To the last drop, to the bottom.“A dream put Aristotle out of breath, / A meteor he said, ’twixt life and death. “An quid fit frustra? An datur vacuum? Fill the pot, Edy! Supernaculum.” A blazing star’s a rare spectaculum!”
noun
- Excellent wine that one would wish to drink to the last drop.“I've placed another flaggon on the table. Your worship knows it— number thirty-five:— the supernaculum.”