The Love of Words
Some things about us are genetic, some things about us are cultivated. It might be hard to figure out which is the root of my love of words. My mother was a genius, not joking, not bragging, she was. A brilliant woman with a knowledge of the English language that was simply amazing. When Readers Digest would arrive in the post, the first thing my mother did was the word power and I never remember her missing any. She had a powerful vocabulary. It didn't hurt that she had about 8 years of Latin, which allows you to figure out a lot of word meanings.I believe I inherited her love of words, but in no way could I ever come close to her vocabulary.
When I was in my teens, I faithfully watched William I Buckley's show Firing Line. Rarely, did I agree with his ultra-conservative views but I had nothing but admiration for that mans command of the English language. Often times I would joke that you needed to have a dictionary handy just to look up the words he used in a single setting.
Throughout my life I have kept a running list of words that I love, not particularly for the meaning, but for the way they sound to me and some words just make me smile to say them.
Here is a portion of my favorite word list, shown in no particular order....if you are not familiar with the word, get out that dictionary and search it out, no better way to remember a word than to look it up : )
tintinnabulation
altercation
Scruples
Antidisestablishmentarianism
Omphaloskepsis
machination
Balderdash
FYI: PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS is the longest word in the English language, but I never use it : )
our families, (it was my mothers) well worn dictionary, propped up between two rather odd pop up books....I love pop up books and so I get them as gifts. Melissa is by far the most creative when it comes to finding new ones for me.
Comments
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
It is the name of a place in Wales, and it means "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave".
The train station there used to be famous because the place name sign was longer than the platform!!
My paternal grandmother was Welsh and she taught me how to say this, and I taught my son.
@Jacran: how do you even pronounce that name of the place? Is there a way to break it down? And how do you remember the spelling. They should have a catchy tune to go along with it. ha ha
I find that I can never really use it unless I am
reading a children’s book and point one out to
my grandchildren…
Did the same with my children when they were little..
It's a fun word...
Louise