sherd (sherd) — noun: an historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery.Yes, that’s sherd as opposed to shard. A shard, for your records, is the same irregular, jagged shape as a sherd, it’s just that the latter is made of stone or glass. A sherd — short for potsherd — has to come from old, broken pottery. It’s just an added bonus that sherd sounds like a regional accent pronunciation for the past tense of “shit.” Even if the distinction is type that diehard archeologists would come to blows over, why make it? I mean really — would’t it be easier to just have shard cover your bases for all manner of broken knickknacks? Of course not. Because there’s actually a third term to throw into the mix for when the broken piece has writing on it: ostracon.
Archeologist fights are the best, of course, because they all carry bullwhips.
Previous words of the week after the jump.
- aasvogel, acné excoriée des jeunes filles, adulterine, ageusia, ambeer, anosmia
- barn, barrack, beeturia, bissextile, bloofer, breastsummer, brinicle
- catholicon, cecaelia, cephalophore, cherpumple, chilver, chyron, cockernonnie, collywobbles, coprolalia, couvade, cranberry morpheme, crwth, culaccino, cummingtonite
- darkle, deasil, decussate, deuteragonist, dingbat, dingle
- eidolon, epeolatry, epopt, espalier, etui, exoterica
- fabiform, Feghoot, fissilingual, Föhnkrankheit, folderol, formication, freekeh, froward
- gallinipper, gnaborretni, grandgore, grue, guilloche, gyaru
- hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, hobson-jobson, hogo, honorificabilitudinitatibus, hoyden, hyetal
- ignivomous, iracund, isabelline, itaiitai, izod, izzard
- jabroni, jamais vu, jehu, jumentous
- kaffir, kakopygian, kayfabe, knipperdollin
- lagniappe, leman, lemniscate, limnovore, linsey-woolsey, longicorn
- malacia, malison, maroon, merryandrew, milt, mongo, mooncalf, morepork, muzjiks
- narrenfreiheit, nef, nihilartikel, nobiliary particle, nosism, nudiustertian
- obelus, ochanee, ogonek, ombré, ooglification, orchidectomy, ordured, orf, osculate
- pace, padiddle, paraprosdokian, pareidolia, pavonated, perendiate, perigee, perverb, petrichor, pettifogger, pettitoes, phlegmagogue, phpht, pismire, pixilated, pogonip, pong, pruniferous, puggle, pulveratricious, purse
- quacksalver, quagga, qualtagh, quidnunc, quiff
- ronion, roynish, rubirosa, rumpsprung, runcible
- salmagundi, scrutator, seneschal, sharrow, shebang, sinople, slampadato, slubberdegullion, stan, stevedore, suovetaurilia, suzerainty
- tappen, tatterdemalion, teratogenesis, tergiversate, tetromino, thagomizer, thon, tiffin, tittery-whoppet, tmesis, toby, tutoyer, tyro
- ucalegon, ultramontane, umiaq, umquhile
- veneficial, verdigris, vespertilionine, vinegeroon
- weeaboo, widdiful, williwaw, witzelsucht, wooper looper
- xenodocheionology, xyster
- yazoo, ypsiliform, yoink
- zanjero, zenzizenzizenzic, zinnober, zugzwang
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