whimperative
n.— «Sadock, Jerrold M. 1970. Whimperatives. In: Studies presented to R.B. Lees by his students. Edited by Sadock and Vanek Edmonton, Linguistic Research, Inc. 223-228.» —, 1970. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Words for “mother” begin with the letter M in many languages, but not all of them. The reason has to do with the physiology of infant vocalization. Among the first sounds babies make are bilabial sounds with an open vowel, the lips...
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the...