words that leak meaning through you before you finish reading them.
means osmo words are terms whose sense you absorb intuitively without needing a strict definition, the way you know defenestrate involves a window before knowing it involves throwing.
from informal coinage from osmosis, the passive diffusion of molecules across a membrane from high to low concentration, borrowed to describe how certain words seep meaning into a reader through sound, shape, and context rather than explicit definition.
defenestrate — sounds violent and window-related before anyone explains it
squelch — wet mushy meaning obvious from the sound alone
gargantuan — feels huge just from its mouth-filling syllables
snollygoster — clearly shady sounding, guessable as untrustworthy politician