Collected Words
Draft Pages of The Grant Collected Word Dictionary by debgrant
I have been thinking lately about writing my own dictionary. Rather a collection of words and why they matter…well, to me. One of those books that would have to be priced for a gazillion dollars because it will never be a best-seller.
A linguist recently told the BBC that 75% of our daily speech comes from as few as 800 words. We fall into language ruts. I agree. This primed the pump for creating my own collection of words that I like to ponder or say out loud if only to impress someone or just my bird. I consult etymological dictionaries online because I am too lazy to do my own research and too poor to afford a hard copy. If anyone has a used copy of The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology collecting dust, let me know.
Here's what I have so far:
· Bulleted list: the way I think in phrases, fragmented sentences. I hate that it originated from the word for a projectile usually hurled at living creatures. Given that the list is a way to hurl our thoughts at other people, I suppose it still fits.
· Juxtaposition: I first heard this word in a college English class. I was learning to glean meaning from the thoughts or scenes a writer would choose to position in the text. I first felt this word when I walked from a class on the book of Romans about the human condition and the nature of grace to my next class in the building across the street where we were discussing how humans treat ourselves and each other according to the novels of William Faulkner.
· Monomanical: Another word I learned in English class when it was used to describe Ahab in Moby Dick. I have since met and witnessed many other Ahabs and Mobies to which this word is applicable.
· Bungalow: I just liked saying it. I like saying bungalow more than I like the sound of other words like mucus. Words are like that. Etymologists tell me bungalow originated as a word for a type of dwelling built by the English interlopers in India. I still like the word. I am sorry it was connected to a part of our human history during which we were horrible house guests.
· Frabjous: Wonderful, extraordinary. A word invented by a poet – Lewis Carroll. It helps me climb out of my 800-word rut which relies too often on “Cool!” or worse, “Awesome!” Have a Frabjous Day.
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