Regular Flavorpill readers will probably know that we’re suckers for typography, and also for interesting words, so we were rather delighted to stumble across a project that manages to combine the two. It’s blog called The Dead Words, which we discovered via CMYBacon. The project is curated by graphic designer Karen To, and it focuses on words that have slipped from popular usage over the years, attempting to reanimate them with the assistance of thematically appropriate typography. To be honest, we’re more interested in the words themselves than the way they’re laid out — who knew, for instance, that “senticous” meant “prickly or thorny”? — but the idea as a whole is a fascinating one. Check out some of our favorite dead words after the jump, and see if you can guess what they mean (we’ve included the definitions below the images.)
Senticous: “prickly or thorny.” Lettering by Cory Say.
Fumificate: “to make or cause smoke or incense.” Lettering by Karen To.
Xylogenous: “adapted to or living in wood.” Lettering by Karen To.
Sagittifero: “bearing arrows.” Lettering by Brandon Rike.
Gaudiloquent: “speaking joyfully or on joyful matters.” Lettering by Karen To.
Stiricide: “falling of icicles from a house.” Lettering by Lila Burns.
Tornatil: “made with wheel.” Lettering by Karen To.
Kexy: “like a kex; dry and brittle; withered, sapless, hollow.” Lettering by Karen To.
Aquabib: “a water drinker.” Lettering by Neil Tasker.
Murklins: “in the dark.” Lettering by Filip Komorowski.