Forgotten words get their due

Some words have fallen out of popular use, but shouldn't have.

So says Wayne State University, which recently released its fourth annual list of "remarkably useful and expressive words that deserve more chances to enrich our language."

"By bringing these words back into conversation, we expand our ability to communicate clearly and help make our world a more interesting place," said Irvin Reid, dean of the Honors College.

The list has its fans.

"For those who appreciate language, there is a real thrill in discovering -- or rediscovering -- new words, especially in your own tongue," said journalist Jack Lessenberry, who teaches at Wayne State.

If you don't like the list, you can recommend other words on the "Word Warriors" Facebook page or at www.word warriors.wayne.edu.

Meanwhile, here's the list -- with usage examples.

Erstwhile: Former; bygone. The word is rampantly misused. "Roger had reasons to suspect that Rachel, his erstwhile lover, had hacked into his e-mail."

Execrable: Atrocious; wretched; abominable. "Alice might have a Ph.D., but her spelling is execrable."

Frisson: Thanks to French for this word meaning that sudden, involuntary shiver we might feel at times of great emotion. "Albert knew he'd be glad to see Victoria, but he wasn't expecting a powerful frisson of pleasure when he took her hand."

Parlous: Dangerous or risky; variant of Middle English "perilous." "Prospects for Yazoo City grew increasingly parlous as the Mississippi's record flood rolled southward."

Penultimate: Next to last. "Everyone's heard of the Last Supper, but the Penultimate Supper has been largely forgotten."

Supercilious: Contemptuous; disdainful; condescending. "I knew I was about to go into the tank socially when I noticed the supercilious way she was looking at my red shoes."

Transmogrify: To change completely, usually grotesquely, in appearance or form. "So Gregor drifted off to sleep, never dreaming he was in a Kafka story and would transmogrify into a hideous insect overnight."

Truckle: Submit obsequiously; be subservient; kowtow. "When I'm in the presence of a powerful person, my own concept of equality gets blurry and I have a regrettable tendency to truckle, if only to be polite" (Ian Frazier, "Travels in Siberia").