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There’s a name for everything, even if you don’t know what it is. We may use placeholders like “thingamabob” or “whatchamacallit” but the odds are that there’s an official formal name for whatever you’re talking about.

As usual, while I was browsing through the Merriam Webster Dictionary website recently, I found a fun list of “words for things you didn’t know have names.” (This list specifically was the fourth installment, apparently.) There were a ton of words I had never heard before – and I probably will never have reason to use – but they were fun and interesting enough that I wanted to share this week.

Here are a few of the most interesting to me:

Did you know there’s a specific term for a person who counterfeits documents? Yes, that’s right. If someone wants a fake license or certificate, they’d go to a “jarkman.” That comes from the word “jark” which is an old outdated term for a counterfeit document, but no one is quite sure how this word ultimately came into existence. (Perhaps someone simply… made it up, much like a fake driver’s license!)

(If you’re curious, Merriam Webster also notes that English often has specific names for several different types of criminals. That includes “pennyweighter” for a thief that steals jewelry by substituting a fake for a valuable piece, a “jackroller” for someone who robs a drunk or sleeping person, and a “biblioklept” for someone who steals books.)

If you have ever gone skiing, you are probably also familiar with falling down in the snow. It happens from time to time, even if you’re an expert skier! But did you know the impression your body leaves behind in the snow when you fall backwards has a name?

It’s called a “sitzmark.” The dictionary says the word is likely a combination of “sitzen” (which is German for “to sit”) and “mark” (the English word). That’s pretty easy to remember, because, yeah, you’re basically just sitting in the snow whenever you fall down.

At least now I have the technical terminology to explain why I don’t really enjoy skiing!

Have you ever seen those spiky metal objects that people use to puncture tires? Did you know there’s a name for that object? It’s called a “caltrop.” The dictionary describes it as a device with four metal points where one of them sticks up in the air as a hazard to “the hooves of horses or to pneumatic tires.”

This word comes from Medieval Latin (which makes sense because it sounds like a Medieval kind of torture device from the description). Merriam Webster notes that “caltrops” isn’t an official synonym for your kid’s forgotten Lego piece that you accidentally step on, but no one can stop you from calling it that if you want (along with whatever other curse words that pop in your head).

Did you know there’s another word you can use to describe a dead tree that’s still standing? That’s called a “snag.” (Not to be confused, of course, with other definitions of the word.) I’ve seen plenty of those over the years whenever I take a walk through the woods, but I never knew before that there were any other names for those unfortunate trees.

This definition might be Scandinavian in origin, from an Old Norse word that means “clothes peg.” No, I don’t understand the connection between that definition and the tree one either. Languages are weird! What I do know, however, is that you can also call a tree or branch embedded in water as a “snag” too. As in, you hope you don’t catch your boat on a snag.

Did you know there’s a specific description for the leaping motion that deer and gazelle and other similar animals make when they run? Yep, that’s called a “pronk.”

In one of the dictionary’s examples, a safari guide says that “a pronking impala can leap three times its own height, if it’s really agitated.” “Pronk” just sounds like such a fun description of the motion, kind of like an onomatopoeia.

But it’s not actually a description of the sound. The word itself comes from the Afrikaans language, meaning “to show off.”

Did you know there’s a way to describe a young hare that’s less than a year old? That would be a “leveret,” a word which can be traced back to Middle English, and then Latin even earlier than that.

A leveret, however, shouldn’t be confused with a bunny, which is the term for a young rabbit. Technically speaking, hares and rabbits are two different animals, even if they seem very similar.

And lastly, did you know there’s a specific word to describe a young, untrained circus elephant? Surprisingly, that word is “punk.”

Yes, yes, I know the word “punk” probably conjures up a different image in your head other than a young elephant. You might be thinking about a certain style of human clothing or music. (Nothing that would presumably suit an elephant.) But the word has several definitions and one of those includes “a beginner or novice.”

So, with that in mind, I suppose it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to describe a new young elephant just learning the ropes of circus performances with a word that means “beginner.” Good luck, punk!

Holly Taylor is a Staff Writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or by phone at 252-332-7206.