I think we all know that I’m a fan of words, a word nerd, if you will. A lexicon loser, grammar geek, a nomenclature nimrod, a diction dork… you get the idea.

I’m also of Finnish descent. Along with green eyes, fair complexion, and a ski-slope slip of a nose, that means I was blessed with a last name that is 57% vowels. Yes, there are more vowels in my last name than consonants. Thanks, Finland.

Because I’m saddled with so many vowels on a daily basis, I like words without them, so I’m giving a nod to English language words without any vowels at all. I’ve recently used a few words on this list and thought I’d share them. Some of them you probably know and use, too.

If you discount Y as a vowel, there are a lot of words without vowels–by, sky, dry, crypt, hymn, rhythm, etc.–but I’m going to disregard the common words and go for the ones a lot of people don’t know and/or my favorites.

Some of them are Welsh since Wales is the anti-Finland as far as vowels go.

cwm

|koom|

noun

1. geology a half-open steep-sided hollow at the head of a valley or on a mountainside, formed by glacial erosion.

1. poetic/literary a ring, circlet, or circle.

ORIGIN Welsh; mid 19th cent.: related to combe, occurring in charters in the names of places in southern England, many of which survive; of Celtic origin. The current general use dates from the late 16th cent.

crwth

|krooth|

1. a crowd; a large number of things gathered or considered together.
2. an ancient stringed instrument of Celtic origin similar to the cithara but bowed in later types

ORIGIN Welsh; 1830-40: cognate with Irish cruit; harp, lyre

hm

|hmm|

interjection

1. used typically to express thoughtful absorption, hesitation, doubt, or perplexity.

ORIGIN unknown

abbreviation

1. abbreviation for hectometer, a metric unit of length equal to one hundred meters.

ORIGIN France; 1800-10; hectomètre

nth

|enth|

adjective

1. mathematics denoting an unspecified member of a series of numbers or enumerated items
2. in general use denoting an unspecified item or instance in a series, typically the last or latest in a long series

ORIGIN mathematics; 1850-55; N (symbol for a number) + -th

pygmy

|pigmē|

noun

1. a very small person, animal, or thing
2. derogatory an insignificant person, esp. one who is deficient in a particular respect

adjective

1. (of a person or thing) very small
2. used in names of animals and plants that are much smaller than more typical kinds

ORIGIN late Middle English (originally in the plural, denoting a mythological race of small people): via Latin from Greek pugmaios ‘dwarf,’ from pugmē ‘the length measured from elbow to knuckles.’

pyx

|piks|

noun

1. Christian Church the container in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept.

1. in the UK a box at the Royal Mint in which specimen gold and silver coins are deposited to be tested annually at the trial of the pyx.

ORIGIN Latin: pyxis, transliteration of Greek: πυξίς, box-wood receptacle, from πυξος, box-tree

scry

|skrī|

verb ( skries, skried) [ intrans. ]

1. foretell the future using a crystal ball or other reflective object or surface.

DERIVATIVES scryer; noun

ORIGIN early 16th cent.: shortening of descry.

stymy

|stīmē|

also stymie

verb  ( -mies , -mied , -mying or -mieing ) [ trans. ]

1. informal prevent or hinder the progress of

ORIGIN mid 19th cent.; originally a golfing term, denoting a situation on the green where a ball obstructs the shot of another player.

sylph

|silf|

noun

1. an imaginary spirit of the air.
2. a slender woman or girl.
3. Aglaiocercus kingi; a mainly dark green and blue hummingbird, the male of which has a long forked tail.

ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from modern Latin sylphes, sylphi and the German plural sylphen, perhaps based on Latin sylvestris ‘of the woods’ + nympha ‘nymph.’

syzygy

|sizijē|

noun ( pl. -gies)

1. astronomy a conjunction or opposition, esp. of the moon with the sun
2. poetry the combination of two metrical feet into a single unit
3. in general use a pair of connected or corresponding things

ORIGIN early 17th cent.: via late Latin from Greek suzugia, from suzugos ‘yoked, paired,’ from sun- ‘with, together’ + the stem of zeugnunai ‘to yoke.’

tsk tsk

|tisk tisk|

exclamation

1. expressing disapproval or annoyance

verb

1. to tsk tsk; make such an exclamation.

ORIGIN 1940s: imitative.

wyn

|win|

also wynn, wen

noun

1. a boil or other swelling or growth on the skin, esp. a sebaceous cyst
2. archaic an outstandingly large or overcrowded city
3. a runic letter, used in Old and Middle English, later replaced by W

ORIGIN Old English wen(n), literally joy, so named because it is the first letter of this word; Low German wehne ‘tumor, wart.’

xyst

|zist|

noun

1. in ancient Greek and Roman architecture a long covered portico, as a promenade, especially one used in ancient Greece for athletics
2. in an ancient Roman villa a garden walk planted with trees

ORIGIN 1655-65; Latin xystus garden terrace, shaded walk; Greek xystós a covered colonnade

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Well, there you have it; more fodder for your Scrabble or Words With Friends games, although good luck trying to spell syzygy with a standard Scrabble set.