Sometimes a word comes your way which makes you realise that there’s a whole different world of activity out there that you never dreamed of.

I saw the word tribology recently, made a note of it as I always do with a new word, and looked it up. It looks like the perfect word for the study of tribes, but it is far from that meaning.

Tribology (pronounced try-bolla-jee) is the study of friction, wear, lubrication and the design of bearings; the science of interacting surfaces in relative motion. In other words, how things rub along with each other. This is the definition in the Oxford English Dictionary but more than that, it was actually invented by the lexicographers at OED.

In 1965, a group of lubrication engineers decided they needed a name for what they did and contacted the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary for help. Out of this came the word tribology, from the Greek tribos ‘rubbing’.

It’s comforting to know that there are teams of scientists out there studying how skates behave on ice or how tyres adapt to different road conditions, improving our safety and efficiency in so many ways.

Another strange word I had to look up recently was sabaton. A weapon used by a saboteur maybe? No, it’s the footwear that goes with a knight’s armour. The sabaton, also known as a solleret, is a pointy shoe made of – wait for it – riveted iron plates. And I thought my stilettos were uncomfortable. Imagine walking on iron plates!

Up until the 15thC, they ended in a tapered point well past the toes but then they were made to end at the tip of the toes – probably got fed up with being trodden on. In fact, the length of the sabaton was a class-conscious issue. Only princes and dukes were allowed to have toes 2.5 feet long, lords 2 feet long and gentry only 1 foot long.

So watch out – I might add these words to a crossword sometime soon. Remember you read it here first.

Happy Puzzling!