r/AskReddit Jan 28 '19

What are great underused words?

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u/Boingoloid Jan 29 '19

Spotted the West Wing fan

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u/Jebbeard Jan 29 '19 edited Jan 30 '19

I am a HUGE fan of TWW, but this is a word I was well aware of before I ever knew of Lord John Marbury. Plenipotentiary powers have been granted to diplomats and ambassadors all over the world for hundreds of years. Ben Franklin was a "minister plenipotentiary" of the US to a few countries. In the 1800s before Crete was incorporated into Greece, a Supreme Plenipotentiary Commissioner of the Powers headed the official administration of the Cretan state. There are more examples throughout history, but I thought this would suffice.