unberufen means touch wood; knock on wood; an injunction to fate that nothing will go wrong. It carries an Arena rating of 1384, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, unberufen ranks #979 of 17,093 for Most Storied Words, #1,023 of 17,140 for The Improbable, #1,864 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,918 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “unberufen” is a great word
A spoken charm uttered to avert ill fortune after a hopeful or boastful statement, the verbal equivalent of ‘knock on wood.’ From German unberufen, from un- ("un-", a negating prefix) + berufen ("to call upon, invoke"), thus literally meaning 'not called upon' or 'let it not be invoked.' Unlike "touch wood," a tactile ritual often stripped of semantic weight, or "jinx," which names a curse already cast, unberufen is a precise, pre-emptive ritual against fate's envy. It is the murmured word after mentioning a streak of good health, the swift interjection following a hope for clear skies, the linguistic flinch that acknowledges the universe's cruel irony—a small, human spell cast into the vast indifference of chance.
Etymology
From German unberufen (“let it not be called down on me”).
intj
- Touch wood; knock on wood; an injunction to fate that nothing will go wrong.e.g.“"Unberufen ! " cries Sarah, with a shudder that is not all affectation, " do not mention that accursed name ; I could have sworn that I heard her voice just now !"”
Words closest in meaning
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