word of the day (part 7 in a 73 part series)

Euphonics alt Phonaesthetics (‘yü-fǝ-nē) n. the study of inherent pleasantness or beauty (euphony) or unpleasantness (cacophony) of the sound of certain words and sentences. euphony n

Don't you love it when words actually work? When they look and sound the way they mean? People always comment on when it goes the other way - you know the stuff - Why is "abbreviation" such a long word? Why is the word "invisible" so prominent? Why is “infinitesimal” so much bigger than “big”? Why is “eternal” actually shorter than “momentary”? Why isn't "monosyllabic" monosyllabic? Why are there no other words that sound like homophone? Why isn't the word "phonic" spelt phonically? Shouldn't a "palindrome" be spelt the same backwards as it is forwards?

You've heard them all a thousand times before. So join with me in joy to celebrate Euphony - a word that does what it claims to for a change.

word of the day (part 6 in a 73 part series)

Echolalia (,εkǝu’lelıǝ) [ěk'ō-lā'lē-ə] n. Psychiatry. 1. the tendency to repeat mechanically words just spoken by another person 2. the imitation by a baby of the vocal sounds produced by others, occurring as a natural phase of childhood development. [from New Latin, ECHO + Greek lalia - talk, chatter] echolalic adj

word of the day (part 5 in a 73 part series)

Somniloquy (som’nılǝ,kwı) [sŏm-nĭl'ə-kwē] n. plural -quies. the act of talking in one’s sleep [from Latin, somnus sleep + loqui to speak] somnniloquest n somnioloquous adj

To be honest I think I personally prefer the sound of somnioloquous. It has a pleasing finish. However it is a lot easier to describe sleeptalking than something with an air of sleeptalking-ishness.

I heard both these words, along with Somnambulate (sleep walking) on a rather odd radio show a few weeks back. Since then I've been trying to decide between somnioloquous or somnambulation. Both, I think you'll agree pleasant sounds. The sleeptalking won simply because I gives me a chance to link to a blog imaginatively called Sleep Talkin' Man - where a woman records the words her husband says while sleeping. Be warned - most of it is hilarious, some of it disturbing, occasionally offensive, (he swears a lot in his sleep) all of it just plain daft.

"Squid wrestling: all tentacles and no substance."

...

word of the day (part 4 in a 73 part series)

serendipitously seren·dipi·tous·ly (sēr’ən-dīp’ī-t-əs-lē) adv. lucky in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries, having or bringing good fortune; The word comes from the term serendipity, a noun to cover the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident, the fact or occurrence of such discoveries or an instance of making such a discovery.

Another word that made me smile. I just love the sound of it. Did you know that the word Serendipity was formed from an old word meaning Sri Lanka, Serendip? The English author Horace Walpole used it in a letter in 1754. It was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of."

Someone should have pointed out to him the perils of ending a sentence with a preposition

word of the day (part 3 in a 73 part series)

enigmatize e`nig´ma`tize Intransitive verb To make, or talk in, enigmas; to deal in riddles.

I used this in a conversation with someone last night and have only just realised it wasn't the proper use of the word. I don't care - I wanted to use it and so I did. Sue me.

Word of the Day (Part 2 in a 73 part series)

kakistocracy kak·is·toc·ra·cy (kăk'ĭ-stŏk'rə-sē, kä'kĭ-) n., pl. -cies. Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

[photo of our current cabinet for illustrative purposes - obviously in no way related to this post]

Word of the day (Part 1 of a 73 part series)

Every so often I come across a word that makes me smile. Sometimes I don't even know why. It could be because it sounds funny, it could be because it means something totally unexpected, it could be because it reminds me of something... it could be anything.

Well because I have nothing better to write I just thought I'd share with you the joy I had when reading Jasper Fforde's "The Big Over Easy." Five pages in I read the word 'Epiphantic' and it made me so happy I had to stop reading for a few minutes to devote my full attention to appreciating the gorgeous sound of the word. I've always loved the sound of 'Epiphany', it's a nice word - but it can't hold a torch to it's adjectival relative. I even looked up the dictionary when I got home to see if any other derivations could complete - they couldn't. Even epiphenomenalism comes up short - although it must be a close second.And now you are beginning to worry about my sanity I must stop. But not before I officially declare Epiphantic my favourite word... for the time being.