Oddly specific words

[Pabappa]

Im curious to see examples of words that are highly specific or difficult to translate. Poswa has a fair number, due to its polysynthetic grammar and the tendency to reuse morphology. Often, two semantically unrelated words are yoked together and fuse due to sound change, and then stay close to their original meaning as the labguage evolves.

For example, žafa "to bite while underwater" exists as a standalone morpheme derived from archaic žas "to bite" and appears in the words for alligator and several types of fish. Though rarely used for humans, it is still grammatical and can be used metaphorically ... and it can be occasionally used for animals that have varied hunting habits and eat both underwater and on land. Neither the modern word for "bite" nor the word for underwater is recognizable here.

Other examples from Poswa:

fubem swarm of micropredators
bobbapas heterosexual and monogamous teenagers; "going steady"
lapoža to lick candy
pambamam an animal that is about to be eaten
peppapene to bite off someone's hand
pupia to mark territory by urinating
rursi sleeping along the shore
židžy hypothermic, below normal body temperature
naka coat hanger
tara living inside a seashell
džuffap sand in the throat
džutša social network
šaba livestock tied to a pole
tapa insect wings
laftup to retract one's claws (used literally for cats and metaphorically for humans)
laref to drink coffee (the word for coffee is derived from this verb, rather than the other way around)
libi to blow bubbles
mappa thigh armor
myba poisonous fruit
nappa circular lake
nantup to prefer to wear skirts
vappipa enclosed underwater cave
sinupi artificial sleep; having passed out
pabba rabbits with carrots
pales to spy from inside
popup to find a large amount
papotos driver's license
pipam soft and delicate; easily penetrated
pasa to exploit a weakness; to torture
pepopa museum, library, reservoir where things are not for sale
ply to sleep in a tree
plenop children studying
pobu babble; an animal's characteristic noise
ponti children with apples
puba to carry freight over land
tabba sunlit tree
pupop full stomach
puppop to hold one's breath underwater
pwupu berry patch
rinwap to push on a stationary object; "leverage"
rumem to count on one's hands
sabum weapon carried on one's back
bušia to swim upstream
tutup carrying concealed weapons
twup apple orchard
uba to stick one's thumb into a hole
wabbepa airborne sand; dust storm
wabos mask that hides most of the face; avatar
wenap to stand with the hands on the hips
žima to identify objects by touch
bampana to walk on lava
bly renewable food supply
uffaša sailor who is afraid to venture out of sight of the shore
lapi to throw a bomb
leva wolf that lives on plains
papara wolf that lives in a deep valley
maba an animal that lives only among humans
mampap to clean oneself with clothes on; to brush off dirt
mapapema to refuse to die
mebbas illegal weapon
papep to grow inside something
wabom small object without a handle
sumes children playing with each other
žannaba to hug a snake
šapep deer hunting grounds

[masako]

for Kala:

nipa - to stretch the back by extending one leg at a time
huku - to politely wait for everyone to sit before sitting
uenta - a parent's sibling
tohe - always [or routinely] cooperate or agree with
nkampo - segment(ed) into equal pieces

That's just a few of them.

[Zaarin]

žannaba to hug a snake

...In what context would this come up?

[bbbosborne]

nishtigian:
talleriini /taʎeɾiːni/ to criticize someone's speech during a competition
origin

forish:
mčačros /m̩t͡ʃɑt͡ʃɾos/ to express severe frustration and/or instilled anger after failing to understand, perceive, or comprehend content, instructions, or a voice during one's attempt to do such, with the intent to boost one's low self-esteem up
origin: cause i could

unklepete /unklepete/ child molestor
origin: uncle pete

u /u/ someone who has no friends
origin:

junča'arat /d͡ʒunt͡ʃɑʔɑɾɑt/ to get a sex change
origin: verbalized form of "man"

ašuzala /aʃuzɑlɑ/ to half-ass something
origin: cause i could

[Pabappa]

I forgot to list my favorite, prutos, meaning "arm extender tool" .... my favorite because it's an object that exists here on earth but has no common name. I've heard "claw" and a few other terms I can't remember , but none are precise. Prutos is etymologically "that by which (you) reach".

žannaba to hug a snake

...In what context would this come up?

thanks, good question. Most words of this form are used to generate inanimates..... e.g. "to lick candy" --- > lollipop. But this is animate, so it wouldn't make sense to derive a word like *"snake you hug". I may have intended it to be symbolic of the brave manners of some people .... either being free from, or thinking one is free from, the danger of being crushed by a boa constrictor. Or a more positive meaning indicating love for even those who can easily harm you. Words of this type are meant to have more than one use. Also , it replaces the word for "hug" when used with certain other snakelike objects, like ropes.

[Zaarin]

Ah, that makes sense.

[elemtilas]

A couple of my Queranarran favourites:

elendelasuruein — watch the stars wheel overhead; rejoice in the changing seasons and years; recollect the past with nostalgia and grief intermingled; recount the years and ages of the world via mythistorical narrative or song (Mind you, it's getting cold here a bit too soon, so I'm not necessarily all on board with rejoicing at the sudden change from Summer to Winter!)

embronduin — of moons, to wax towards full; of girls, to grow pregnant; of herd animals, to fatten for slaughter; of girls, to die in childbirth.

guiraethrond — that sense of awe & reverence about the created order and the longing and nostalgia for the long ages of moons and stars that have gone before and will never come again — a sense of awe and wonder about something created by another — this sense of awe and reverence applies not only to past history, but also to mythological history and also allohistory and thus to the makings of storytellers, riddlers, wordsmiths and glossopoets.

laharrombyain — to follow your toes; go on adventures; go bush; chase rainbows and moonbeams; wander without goal; to be freed of all burdens and cares, if only for a little while.

uwashu — a person's left wing.

uwashutays — mind your left wing!

tlâwashu — right wing.

tiyasalitsonyiel — salt box with wells for different kinds of salt.

roanclathyein — hurt or injure one’s left eye.

tungepallisurrufionguin — wear or put on clothing, bangles, necklets, maranderi, body paint, fascinators and other trinkets; get gussied up.

[Zaarin]

A couple of my Queranarran favourites:

elendelasuruein — watch the stars wheel overhead; rejoice in the changing seasons and years; recollect the past with nostalgia and grief intermingled; recount the years and ages of the world via mythistorical narrative or song (Mind you, it's getting cold here a bit too soon, so I'm not necessarily all on board with rejoicing at the sudden change from Summer to Winter!)

...

guiraethrond — that sense of awe & reverence about the created order and the longing and nostalgia for the long ages of moons and stars that have gone before and will never come again — a sense of awe and wonder about something created by another — this sense of awe and reverence applies not only to past history, but also to mythological history and also allohistory and thus to the makings of storytellers, riddlers, wordsmiths and glossopoets.

laharrombyain — to follow your toes; go on adventures; go bush; chase rainbows and moonbeams; wander without goal; to be freed of all burdens and cares, if only for a little while.

Tolkien would have loved these. (So of course I do, too.) They have a Sindarin feel to them, too.

[Xwtek]

Rkou

khed- (to cleave horizontally, to cut a tree, etc)
t'ad (loincloth with flaps in both front and back)

[Pedant]

Salvian

Ibauhka [ɪ'boxkə]: one who lives in the moment, concerned primarily with the present and what needs to be done
Gam-: love between a parent and child
Affāla [ə'valə]: one who makes something necessary; instigator

[Bessunire]

Ammata to scatter over a localized area

Atyego unnecessary war, war caused by a misunderstanding

Beassa land set aside by peasants to grow food to be given to the local nobleman as taxes

Dos a specific type of small tent

Ekusya to do that

Fatyo to wage civil war

Fethehi difficulty one gets into due to one's own stupidity

Yupevye the feeling of lazy contentment caused by being in a warm bed on a cold morning

[Birdlang]

My languages have these
Slarg
slâimy /ɬɒɪ.mi/: a kind of giant rodent eating land slug
Origin: English ‘slimy’
ngočerr /ŋo.ʧəɽ/: a person who eats magic spells
Origin: unknown
xhujey /Xu.ʤəɪ/: a woman with large breasts
Origin: some weird pronunciation of Slargian English “hugies” which is slang for breasts.
onkeljohn /ən.kl̩ ʤɒn/: a criminal who commits crimes against children (inspired by bbbosborne’s word unklepete)
Origin: Uncle John
ndhémbe /nðem.bə/: dentures
Origin: from Albanian dhëmbë ‘teeth’.
erl /ɐl/: a king of a small village
Origin: the name Earl
pénniwaiz /pen.ni.waiz/: a creepy clown
Origin: from Pennywise

[k1234567890y]

my conlangs tend not to have many such words

Lonmai Luna

In Lonmai Luna, many if not most such words are related to the physiology of long-longs:
- yama - n. summer hair(of a long-long)
- numa - n. winter hair(of a long-long)
- taka - n. first stage of growth of long-longs
- talkam - n. second stage of growth of long-longs
- sakam - n. third stage of growth of long-longs
- sankel - n. fourth stage of growth of long-longs
- sankeye - n. fifth/last stage of growth of long-longs
- kuwaku - v. to move(for a taka or talkam-stage long-long)
- lonklin - v. to move(for a sakam-stage long-long)
- dufa - adj. three-dimensional
- suwe - n. four years
- tuwike - n. child, larva
- sarak - n. triangle
- goko - n. function(mathematical)
- main - n. algebra
- fahum - v. metamorphose
- sulap - v. to moult(specifically for a long-long)
- atowa - v. to perform autotomy
- kalmaikalfansa - n. period of 144 years(derived from kalmaikal "gross(twelve dozen)" + fansa "year")
- solpak - v. grow into the next stage
- yadak - n. group of eight takas
- seke - n. smallest constituent unit
- sek - n. quantum
- mamfa - adj. abstract

Ame

being a language of humans/humanoids, there are even fewer "odd" words:
- ame - n. traditional female underwater diver of the ame-speaking people.
- tadji - adj. three-dimensional
- tawa - n. function(mathematical)
- nesa - n. algebra
- eda - n. smallest constituent unit
- neza - n. quantum
- naregi - adj. abstract