Great words

I just found a site with some brilliant words: Forthright's favourites.

Omphaloskepsis
om-fe-lo-skep'sis, n (Greek, from omphalos navel and skepsis query, doubt)
Navel-gazing. This extraordinarily rare word is not normally used literally, but instead to refer to the sort of introspective self-analysis all too common in academia and pop psychology. A favourite pastime of postmodern philosophers, especially when used facetiously to refer to the habit of mentally considering everything while ignoring the real world.

Panopticon
pan-op'ti-kon, n (Greek, pan- all and optikon for seeing)
A prison where all inmates can be watched from one point; an exhibition room. The panopticon was an idea of Jeremy Bentham. If a single guard post is erected in the middle of a circular prison, all cells can be seen from that point. Unfortunately, the idea never caught on, though the word was used to apply to a royal exhibition in London roughly organized on such a scheme.

Peccavi
pek-ah-vee, n (Latin peccavi I have sinned)
An admission of sin or guilt. Not only is this word's meaning unique, and its sound very interesting, but it gave rise to the most witty multilingual pun of all time. In 1843, when Sir Charles Napier sent a preliminary dispatch of a single word: "peccavi". The reason: his military victory and conquest of the province of Sind (now in Pakistan). His message: "I have Sind".

Phrontistery
fron'tis-te-ree, n (Greek phrontisterion, from phrontistes a thinker, from phroneein to think)
A thinking-place; a place for study. I simply had to include 'phrontistery' on this list. It was first used by Aristophanes to apply to the school of Socrates, and was somewhat mocking in tone. A peculiar (and under-used) term, I hope to reclaim it for thinking people everywhere. No other term is synonymous, and its intellectual if pompous sound merely adds to its charm.

Selcouth
sel'kooth, adj (Old English sel(d)cuth, from seldan seldom, and cuth, known)
Strange; unfamiliar; marvellous. Combining the sense of strangeness with that of wonder, selcouth is a fantastic self-referential word, being both marvellous and (to most English speakers) entirely unfamiliar. No word is really synonymous with it, and it reflects very well the sense of wonder and amazement at seeing something truly new and unusual. Enjoy it!