vellicate means to touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements. It carries an Arena rating of 1783, earned across 36 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vellicate ranks #475 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,016 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,962 of 42,762 for Qualifying, #2,928 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
vellicate is pronounced /ˈvɛlɪkeɪt/.
Why “vellicate” is a great word
To vellicate is to lightly touch a body part so as to excite the surface nerves, provoking a twitch, shiver, or spasmodic movement. From Latin *vellicatus*, past participle of *vellicare* ("to twitch, pinch, pluck"), from *vellere* ("to pull, twitch"). Unlike "titillate," which arouses a mental or sensual interest, or "pinch," which implies a sharper, sustained pressure meant to discomfort, to vellicate is to instigate a purely physical, involuntary rebellion. It is the maddening brush of a feather along the sole of a foot, the deliberate tracing finger just below the ribs, the ghost of a cobweb across the neck—a proof that the body retains its own private, spasmodic language, utterly separate from the mind's consent.
Etymology
From Latin vellicatus, past participle of vellicare (“to twitch”). Cognate with Spanish pellizcar (“to pinch”).
verb
- To touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements.
- To twitch or move convulsively.
- To tickle, provoking twitching and laughter.
- To criticize in a somewhat irritating way; to carp at.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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