Words

Few things in life are more seductive than a snazzy vocabulary.  I love words. Never mind my horrific spelling. It isn’t so much how words look on the page but how they sound, how they feel in your mouth, and of course, their meanings. Strung together they gather power. But even on their own, words have magic.

Onomatopoeias are a favorite of mine. Even that word is spectacular! My personal favorite: hush. Why did that word fall from fashion? I don’t use it out loud very often because people, kids, look at me like I’m even more of a gassy, old nutjob than I am. But “Hush” often arises in my thoughts like a whispered command. Especially when walking in forests. All the onomatopoeias for quiet are lovely. Those for noise can be obvious: whiz, bang, boom. Or Gross: slurp, hack, ooze. Or they just might tickle your fancy: bumble, ka-ching, snort, or waffle.

Change one letter in a word, one sound, and the entire meaning transforms. For example, you can metamorphosize rupture, a word fraught with pain and loss, into rapture, a state of exquisite bliss with one little vowel. Fascinating!

Some words are fun to say. Beyond cussing, which is always lively and restorative. I’ve notice that fun to say words often involve math or food. Multiplicative feels like a tap dance in my mouth. Quantitative too. Qualitative is a graceful leap. Anecdotal stumbles but in a charming way.  Baba ganoush wins for the most merry making word I ever uttered. Followed closely by fattoush, burrito, gulab jamun, palak paneer, and coq au vin. I would almost rather say these words than eat them.

I have a crush on these words: Spindly. Reconnoiter. Ferocious. Remedy. Discombobulate. Dazzle. Jiffy. Infinitesimal. Rickety. Noggin. Wizened.

There are few words I dislike but here is a random list: Pop. Moist. Grammarian. Puss, (either pronunciation.)

I keep a list of words I wish to attentively seek a way to wield. Perhaps I heard them used by others wiser and more eloquent. Maybe I read them and guessed at their meaning in context. I don’t keep a dictionary handy when reading but I do use my digital tools and I keep my notebook and pen close. Some of these words are new to me but others have been neglected since I was a wee girl. I won’t give these away just yet for they would lose their spells. And, words are holy. And, that was one.