Down on the bayous, we have an inside joke about folks using big words. We call them fifty cent words. I'm prone to be crazy about new words. I guess it's because years ago, I subscribed to Wordsmith. This is what I received today along with the new word:
Back in 1994, when I founded Wordsmith.org on a Pi Day (March 14), I had no
idea that one day we'd be celebrating its quadridecennial. Here's what the
last 14 years look in numbers:
So far we have sent out 3,782 unique words and 297 AWADmail compilations
to 640,000 present subscribers in 200 countries, that is more than
1.6 billion pieces of email.
Well, this week we're seeing all things 14. We'll feature words that are
14 letters long, and define each of them in 14 letters.
acritochromacy (uh-KRIT-o-kro-muh-see) noun
Color blindness.
[From Greek akritos (undistinguishing) + chroma (color).]
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"'But why should the chronicle of a lovely lady's catastrophic impact
upon Oxford be likely to illuminate this affair of bedaubed busts and
pulverising meteorites? And why--acritochromacy,' said a voice almost
in Appleby's ear."
Michael Innes; The Weight of the Evidence; HarperCollins; 1983.
So, if any of you would care to join, just go to WSmith@Wordsmith.org and you can join there. Have a wonderful evening. Salud.
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Comments: 35
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Thanks for the new word. I love words.
Good morning...What a lovely thing you have shared with us and I am also curious to learn new words. This is so good.
Bhawana - Buzzy - I love those words - I slept late today because I wanted to do the swab in the cheek thing and I can barely make it without nose-diving directly to the coffee pot the minute I wake up! So, this was a specially nice greeting!
Lyla - enough words - oh no - I can never know enough words and what when you play scrabble...or if you do one of those Reader's Digest things? - I love those because once you learn a bit of Latin and know root words, you can figure things out!
Sue, well, "big" is synonymous with- what the hell was that 50 Cent word?!
Laurun - have you ever met anyone simpler than moi! I just like to keep my brain challenged so I can remember that I know how to talk when I'm a hundred.
William - Lexicology is particularly something I love and I can imagine the lexical roots for medical technology must be mostly Latin in origin, huh...how fun that you learned
Audrey - I have made up several new words - I take after my beloved mama - who was from Venezuela and when she couldn't remember a word in English would modify the Spanish word but actually it made loads of sense. I do the same and have gotten some pretty decent results.
Vicky --------------hey girly, a nickel word will always do!!! Even a penny one right now.
Sheila it's ok - thanks for dropping by!
Bob, I'm sure that someday you might want to use it for fun. Words are like art forms - the hub and I sometimes have contests and try to guess new words - it also helps when you play Scrabble, as I think I mentioned just now!
JCorn, What did you find out!?
Wanda - it seems big until you learn to say it a few times and then becomes part of your world.
Ok Nancy but next time you go to say color blindness, you'll think about that wonderful new word sitting up there in your brain catalog! Thanks yall - that was fun! Salud.
Ina, oh we're all younger than we'll be tomorrow! Salud.
Sometimes when I'm sipping my coffee I read my dictionary. It's more fun than you may think.
What I miss most in my writing life is my lost copy of Chambers Eymological Dictionary. I must ty and get a new copy. It breaks down ech word into its Latin or whatever roots.
Using this book, after a while, you can begin to make up your own words.
That's a cool word to know, but not one I'd use aloud.