I love words. Only, it seems that loving them and keeping them handy are two different things. If you don’t use it, you lose it and all that. When I was younger, I used to write a lot… maybe not well, but I still had a pretty good command of a wide vocabulary. Nowadays, though, I find myself reaching for the perfect word that seems just beyond my grasp more often than not. I find it frustrating, and will sometimes just put stuff aside because of it. Nothing to do with age, I’m sure.
Sometimes words catch on, and then they seem to be used all the time, and everywhere. I remember a time (might still be the case, in fact) where when you read a romance novel by any author, if the female character had emotions, they were sure to be “roiling”. Online it was also almost impossible to escape the word “meme” for a while there.
Anyway, with the various projects starting that concern writing, (and the everyday excellent writing going on) I thought it would be fun to re-introduce ourselves to old favorites, or to learn new words and phrases from each other. Of course, there are always dictionaries and thesauruses… (thesauri?) but they lack the personal touch.
My offering is below.
quintessence (kwin-TES-ens) noun
1. The fifth and highest element after air and earth and fire and water; was believed to be the substance composing all heavenly bodies
2. The pure, concentrated essence.
3. Most perfect embodiment of something.
also, the more familiar form: quintessential.
Not a new or very exciting word, but not one I use often, for some reason.
In addition to just words, there are phrases both in English and other languages, as well as regional ones, that are fun to use.
So, what have you got? A word that opens up endless possibilities for you? A turn of a phrase that seems like magic (but which is really usually the result of very hard work)? A good diary title?
Play along and help make the BooTrib the quintessence of good writing, research and investigative, collaborative journalism ;).
I’ve always liked the series “ultimate,” “penultimate,” and the good old “antepenultimate.” I’ll let the curious check on meanings, but they ain’t hard to figure out.
Is a new one for me! At least, I think so (I confess, I had to go look it up).
Thanks!
uberous 1.of an animal or the breast: supplying milk or nourishment in abundance. 2. of a place: richly productive; fertile 3. Abundant, copious, full
ubiquitious 1.Present, appearing, or found everywhere; omnipresent.
ugglesome 1. fearful, horrible, gruesome
ultraism 1. the fact or an instance of holding extreme opinions. 2. A Spanish and Latin American expressionist movement characterized by the rejection of traditional literary forms in favour of free verse and radical imagery.
That’s going to be my new favorite word, I think. So many uses for it nowadays… and such a fun one to say and write too, lol.
My favorite words are the ones that are made up to fit a specific situation where no existing word will do.
I had to describe yesterday my revulsion upon hearing about a young gay man who was beheaded in Alabama. I needed a word to convey my feeling about the fact that the perpetrators probably felt they were doing “the Lord’s work.”
Disgustingly? Revoltingly? Abhorrently? None of them expressed my emotions accurately. Hence, spewingly.
Don’t mock – neologisms make me happy. Hey, so does the word neologism 🙂
Spewingly is a great word! but… what’s the other story? I must have missed it.
I heard about this in a comment on a dKos diary. After googling it for you, I came up with this link.
http://www.performative.com/hosts/hateCrimes/northington/articles.html
Apparently, whoever let me know confused a beheading in VA (which police are reluctant to classify as a hate crime) with a bludgeoning/burning in AL.
Thanks for looking it up. I’d not heard of this, I dont think. Freaky people.
When talking about people like Rove, Cheney, and Rummy, I needed to have just the right word to describe exactly how despicable they are. But none came to hand. So I made this one up
Scuzzwort. Noun — one who is.
Scuzzworthy. Noun — one who should be labeled “scuzzwort.”
Scuzzworty. Adj. — having the characteristics of a scuzzwort.
In a satisfying way, it sounds like what it means.
I make up words all the time too. I don’t see why one shouldnt… after all, someone had to make up the ones we use everyday anyway.
Besides, once “yadda yadda yadda” made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, all bets were off ;).
One day, there will be a place there for the worthy scuzzwort too!
such a good one. A polite way to say “full of shit”.
As for made-up words, I like “hailacous” — a nice pun-play for our Front Range pattern of hail storms.