Yon

Silent night, Holy night, ...
Round yon virgin, mother and child...



What is yon? Short for yonder?

Unlimited Bounty

Eureka! I think I found it! A word that means unlimited, boundless, infinite, without any negative prefix, like in- or un-, or suffix, like -less!

Bountiful.

Full of Bounty.

I thought of this at 4:30 this AM and thought it was genius. So am I full of bounty this morning, or full of ... something else??!

Bountiful - plentiful, generous, and of course bounteous is a synonym. Bounty and Bountiful come from Latin, bonita, and bounteous comes from Latin through French.

Eureka comes from Greek and means "I've found it!" according to my English dictionary. I will have to check this in my Greek dictionary.

Avid Plus

I like the word avid. It means passionate, or animated, characterized by enthusiasm or greed (avaricious). From Latin or French.

I have been nonplussed for several weeks now, after learning that nonplussed means speechless or astonished. I had been misinformed or misled, but I think I understand it now. It comes from Latin from non plus, which means no more.

Gracious Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

And may your rapacious relatives with capacious stomaches leave your home completely statisfied, full of turkey, as well as, joy!

Capacious -- roomy, spacious.

Rapacious -- given to plunder, greedy.

Thank you for reading. And I hope your relatives are gracious, too!

Quintessential Quandary

"On this planet, normal equals insane." – Eckhart Tolle

Just a quixotic quote from the pundit, Eckhart Tolle, from his book, A New Earth.

Is that right? I need an adjective which starts with a Q. Let’s try:
Just a quantum quote from the quarrelsome Eckhart Tolle, from his book, A New Earth.
Or maybe:
Just a quirky quote from the quizzical Eckhart Tolle, from his book, A New Earth.

I’ll go with:
Just a quizzical quote from the pundit, Eckhart Tolle, from his quintessential book, A New Earth.
See full article about ET and The New Earth at http://musinglog.blogspot.com

Adjectives starting with Q:
Quantum – a popular term right now, but no one knows what it means except my friend’s son who is studying nuclear physics.
Quarrelsome – argumentative, cantankerous, querulous.
Quintessential – most essential, concentrated, or purest (form of something). Latin.
Quixotic - idealistic, unrealistic, impractical, or romantic. From the fictional character Don Quixote 1605.
Quizzical – bewildered, confused, or odd.

Copacetic Pundit

There's a word I haven't heard in a while, "copacetic." I'm going to look it up in the unabridged as my standard dictionary states that the origin is unknown. Wow! This is the first word I have not been able to find in my Webster's Deluxe Unabridged Dictionary with 320,000 definitions. It does not list copacetic! Neither does my Microsoft PC thesaurus.

Very mysterious. Not satisfactory at all. Definitely NOT copacetic.

All it says in my standard dictionary is copacetic, adj. very satifactory. Origin unknown.

If there are any other pundits out there with information on the wherabouts or derivation of this word, please let me know!

[A pundit is a learned person. Hindu]

plethora of choices

The philolog is overwhelmed, inundated and surrounded by a world where there are just too many interesting words and phrases to dissect and analyze, to pick just one each day. But today the word is plethora. I wonder where that originated. It could be Greek (just a hunch).



Plethora means abundance. Other synonyms are: jackpot, a lot, multitudenous, gazillion, abundance, superfluity, and others too numerous too mention.



It is from Greek!

The Charisma Challenge

The philolog would like to attempt the impossible. But I need your assistance. Please let me know by comment or email your definition of charisma.

Thank you!

P.S. Not fair looking it up in the dictionary!

before the dawn

I had a premonition this morning.



Premonition. Pre means before. Moni means ... what? . Must be Latin. Mono in Greek means one or alone, as in monopoly. Let's figure this out. Precognition means knowing beforehand. Cognition means a thought or insight, so that figures. Tion as a suffix means state of or quality of. And by the way, why does it sound like shun, anyway?

Moni in premonition comes from the Latin word meaning to advise. So a premonition is the receipt of advice before something happens.


I bet you knew I was going to say that!

Subconscious Mind

It happened again. The philologue is astonished. I just read another script written by a certified hypnosis consultant which uses the word "unconscious" instead of "subconscious." These words are not interchangeable, though you might think so. They have been confused for so long that the dictionary even includes unconscious now as a noun with the following definition: the psychic apparatus which will sometimes leak significant but suppressed information (i.e. a Freudian slip). Interesting that they would bring up Freud. This all his fault. He coined the expression "subconscious." Which means UNDER the conscious level.

Subconscious is a part of the mind, which is sometimes divided into Conscious and Subconscious. Unconscious is an adjective which means NOT conscious, unresponsive, like in a COMA!

And I know clients in trance are responsive. Sometimes appearing as if they are in slow motion, but still responding to the sound of my voice.

This is one of the philolog's pet peeves. Thank you for listening.

Desirable Vocabulary

Before we leave the subject of words related to desire, I want to point out the difference between desirous and desirable. Both are adjectives. I chose the wrong one on Musing Log. Desirable means attractive, pleasant. Desirous means greedy or lustful.

Of bonds and bondage

A bond connects you to someone or something.



Bondage is more like slavery or indebtedness.



Must be related to banns of marriage. Banns is a public announcement of marriage in a church. From Middle English.


Or is it bans?

Bans are things omitted or forbidden. So the bans of marriage, would be quite different. See, the philolog told you spelling was important!!!

Please choose (and spell) your words carefully!

Are desires bad?

Desire. It has an interesting, appealing sound. Why do I hesitate to use the word? Must be those 12 years of Catholic School!

The word "Desire" comes from French. That figures.

Synonyms: covet, crave, wish and want

Okay, "covet" is worse, from the Catholic School perspective...

Crave is like a need.

Wish is like a dream. One of those things you never truly expect to happen.

Want is an overused word. Everybody wants something. And yet no one knows what they want.

Piquant Perspective

I’m piqued by the word piquant. Pique as a verb can mean to offend, stimulate or provoke. Pique as a noun means resentment. It looks and sounds French. I should reread my last post for the etymology. The Unabridged says it comes from piquer, to prick or sting.

Piquant means agreeably pungent, sharp or biting; intriguing or provocative. Charming is listed as a synonym!

Piquancy means having a tart or pungent flavor.

Zestful Zeal (or Zealous Zest)

You don't hear words that start with Z much. It must be a very small section of the dictionary.

Towards the end of the definition section of the dictionary, you will find words that start with ZO, like zoo and zoology. I know they come from a Greek word, zoi, which means life.

Zeal and zest are not much different.

Zeal means enthusiasm, passion, fervor. From Latin, originally from Greek.

Zest means enjoyment, relish. (And also lemon or orange flavoring from the peels.) From French. The closest synonyms are savory, and Piquant. (That could be the subject of a future article for the philologue. Pi-quant! Well, it sure doesn't come from Greek!)

Zesty means hot (temperature-wise) in Greek.

Zealous and Zestful are adjectives, while Zeal and Zest are nouns. A person with Zeal is a zealot. A person with Zest is a ... carefree living treasure?

If you live to be 97 in Okinawa (and lots do!), you have a special birthday celebration, called a ka-jee-maya, and they call you a Living National Treasure. I will discuss this in my next class, The Hypnotic Fountain of Youth, starting Sept 17, at 7 pm, at the Unity Church of Palm Harbor. See http://verbalimpact.blogspot.com/ for details.

Lackadaisical Afternoons

Are you Lazy or Lackadaisical?

Lackadaisical means lacking life, spirit, or zest. The dictionary lists a "folk etymology," that the word comes from an archaic word, "lackaday," which is from the expression, "Alack, the day!"

People don’t speak like that any more. Alas!

Lazy means disinclined to activity or exertion, encouraging indolence or inactivity; sluggish; or droopy. It comes from MLG, which is Middle Lower German.

Alack is used to express regret or sorrow. From Middle English, curiously enough, since the following is from Latin:
Alas is used to express concern or unhappiness.

Alack! I have been lazy about updating my blogs, but I promise that is soon to change!

Pedantic Sophistry

A Pedant is someone who likes to show off their knowledge. The dictionary says it is from Middle French, and lists 3 definitions: a male school teacher, one who parades his learning, or one who emphasizes trivial points in the presentation or use of knowledge. I think the description we might use for the last one is anal retentive, a psychological term that is found in popular usage today.

A Sophist is an ancient Greek teacher of pholosophy, or a thinker, or a fallacious reasoner. Although, S-O-P-H indicates wise or expert, it also carries the meaning of deceptively clever.

Sophisticated means cultured, knowledgeable or disillusioned, or something which has become more complex or developed.

Sophomore which comes from the words for Wise and Moron in Greek, means a second year student, and sophomoric means foolish, or overconfident, but immature.

I suspect these words all come from Sophicles, not Sophia as I originally thought. Must be a gender bias. Great Dictionary!

Tall, dark and aloof

There's something about someone tall, dark, and aloof. That is my type!

Aloof. What an interesting sound! It must be germanic or scandinavian. It sounds like alley-oop. It lifts you up and then lets you float down. But aloof means standoffish.

Maybe it is French. I wanted to put some words from French origins here. I had a discussion at the convention and we spoke about workd taken from other languages and inserted into the English dictionary. I asserted that many Greek words have done just that, but was informed that 100,000 words have come to us directly from French, with the same spelling and usually the same pronunciation. With Greek words the spelling is usually altered and the pronunciation murdered. Of course, the Greek do use a different alphabet, so that might have something to do with the spelling, anyway.

I had to go to the Huge Unabridged Dictionary (HUD), since my constant companion did not list an etymology for aloof. It just left it out, without any explanation or apology. But my HUD says it is from a Dutch origin. And it doesn't say standoffish, it says distant in sympathy, reserved.
Standoffish is, however, in my HUD and the definition for it includes the word, aloof.

With regard to tall, dark and handsome men, aloofness can be very alluring. A-llooour-ing. There's another interesting sounding word...

Deep

I was conversing with some colleagues of mine the other day. The topic of conversation included books we were currently reading, and turned to one of my favorite authors, Deepak Chopra. Someone said Doesn't he use all those big words? I replied, he does have a predilection for multisyllabic terminology!

Sage Advice

I found a wonderful word to substitute for the verb, "age." Why don't we "sage" instead?! Sage is a word, but not a verb, and I think it sounds pretty cool.

For example: How to stay healthy and active as you sage. She is 49 years of sage. She is saging gracefully. (Watch out you don't spell it with 2 Gs. That will ruin it!)

Let me know if you have a better alternative!

Cracking Up

"Cracking up" has two meanings. It can mean laughter or insanity. What is the relationship between these 2? If you are cracked, you are nuts or lacking common sense.
If you crack a smile, it's a spontaneous movement you can't suppress, and cracking up is indulging in hearty laughter that can't be denied.
But cracking under pressure is not good.
Cracking up is not good, even if it is laughter, because it is often used for inappropriate laughter. If you crack up in a church or in class, you get in trouble. And if you crack up laughing repeatedly, people will think you are really cracking up (going crazy).

Crack up also means a crash. So, here's hoping all your crack-ups are the laughing kind!

No, Sir!

One of the surest signs of aging is when people start calling you "ma'am." What is "ma'am?" It is short for Madame, which is French, but I guess we have no true equivalent in English.
A few days ago, I was at the supermarket thinking how this teenage cashier was probably going to call me “ma’am,” so I braced myself. What came out was much, much worse! He had been well-trained for his position. He was taught to look at the name on the credit or debit card, so that he could use the customer’s first name.
He said “Have a nice day, Gloria!” I was so surprised I started laughing. Here I was thinking, “What could be worse than “ma’am,” and he found it. The only thing worse than being called Ma’am, is being called by your first name by a stranger, and a teenager at that!

We need a better word to show respect for women we don’t know. I’m okay with Miss, but that seems only to be used for young women under the age of 25. “Ms.” was supposed to fill the void, but it doesn’t work without a last name, and you can’t say “Hey, Mrs.” either.
I do not think children and teenagers should call unfamiliar adults by their first names. I think there should be a more respectful and courteous way. It’s pretty informal here in Florida, but what kids and even adults here do is to put Miss or Ms. in front of a first name. It used to remind me of Miss Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, not being from the South, but now I’ve almost gotten used to it. Miss Gloria is better than other epitaphs.
As a matter of fact, since ma’am comes from another language anyway, I’d like to suggest Doňa. It is a title of respect for adults borrowed from Spanish. It is sort of like “aunt” but indicates a family friend. Just call me…Doňa Gloria!

Recalcitrant

The word of the day is Recalcitrant. It means to be stubbornly disobedient or resistant. It is from Latin words which literally mean to kick back again.

Geriatric was the word of the month for Geriatric July, as I am inundating myself with Anti-aging theories in order to prepare for the Hypnotic Rejuvenation seminar at the National Guild of Hypnotists convention in August!

Geriatric means relating to the aged, the aging process, or diseases related to aging. It is from Greek. Geriatric is an adjective, but when used as a noun to mean the branch of aging which deals with the problems and diseases of old age, it will be considered singular, but pronounced Geriatrics. I lifted this definition from my dictionary and notice how negative it is! That's why the new word for this branch of medicine is Anti-aging medicine. Although it is not exactly positive, it is better than "geriatrics!"

One of the traits that many centenarians share is that they may be considered recalcitrant. See you in August!

Expressions

Another Day, Another ______!


Fill in the blank.

I like:
Another Day another Happy Event!

How about, Another day, another miracle!

What would you say?

Master

Change is Good. I think I have reached the acceptance stage for the change in my employment status. It is a great time to be free and unencumbered! There was a mandatory training event, at my former job, last Friday and I happened to be the co-chair of the event. So, I got to be the MC, which stands for Master of Ceremonies. (A sexist term, but we will not discuss alternatives, yet.) The event went very well. I base this on the evidence that very few people left after lunch, which has happened in the past. Even I enjoyed it. And the president of the company complimented my on my creativity. So I'm pleased. A Happy Ending.

Master of Ceremonies is a term indicating a male. Of course, we can say just MC. Just like we can say MA or MS instead of Master's degree. See earlier post, much earlier, for a discussion of alternatives for degree titles. The only non-sexist degree is the doctorate. I guess I will have to get one so I can be Dr. Constantas and not use Mrs. or Ms. Although Ms. was conceived to be a privacy-protecting title for a woman, my high school students informed me it usually indicates a divorced woman.

Back to MC, Mistress of Ceremonies will not do, so what could be an alternative?

Technophobe

Technophobe. I'm sure this is a word, even though it is not in my unabridged dictionary. It is just a new word, a neologism.



I sometimes feel like a technophobe, as I have difficulty keeping up. It was only 2 weeks ago, when I sent my first text message. I have a new cell phone and it is still annoying to me. I have not figured out how to change my greeting, so I can't update the info about the next chapter meeting.



I also want to have a really amazing website, but haven't had time to read the manual for that software, either.



I'll get it together ... someday!



Technophobia is not my problem. I was a computer programmer for 10 years in the 80s and 90s. There were no PCs when I learned to write programs. I remember the first TI calculators when they were $500.00! OMG I am getting old!



I hesitate to write that. I need an updated, hip euphemism for "old." Remember the slogan, you're not getting older, you're getting better! I like it, but I don't know what it was for. I think hair color, perhaps.



I do have a great affirmation for memory: I have total recall. Is that right? Oh darn! I seem to have forgotten! Just kidding.

I will share lots of great affirmations at my workshop, the Hypnotic Fountain of Youth on July 9 at Serenity Now Books and Gifts (Palm Harbor).

Superstitious?

Friday the Thirteenth
Have a superlative day!

Even though it is Friday the Thirteenth. Are you superstitious? Most will answer, no, of course not, knock on wood! But there are those among us who are triscadecaphobic! From the Greek, naturally, the word derives from several Greek words, trisca signifies 3, deca, ten, and phobia, fear. I am sure I saw this word in a Charlie Brown cartoon, years ago, but my spell check doesn’t like it, nor is it in my dictionary. But there must be a word for fear of Friday the Thirteenth. It doesn’t come up often, but when it does, it is surely handy to have the right word for it.

I am sure I have seen this word before. But it is not in my Unabridged Dictionary. Well, it just goes to prove how reliable the human memory is. If anyone else has seen it, please let me know, so I won’t chalk it up to old-timers disease. Thanks!

Bless you

Bless is an odd-sounding word. It comes to us from Old English.

When I was a kid, "blessed" was 2 syllables if an adjective, but one if a verb. The dictionary says either pronunciation is acceptable. It means holy; revered; bringing or enjoying happiness.

Disgraceful!

Disgrace. What does it mean? We need to understand grace first. Grace is ... ineffable. I know what it means, but I can't explain. This is a quote from a song by The Who. I always disagreed with that sentence. If you really know what it means, you would be able to define it. But grace has many meanings and even carries with it a biblical or religious significance. So I hesitate to try on my own. I will take a risk and posit that it is from Latin.

Disgrace - n. loss of honor or respect; regarded with disapproval or disfavor. From Latin.

Grace - n. effortless charm; well-coordinated; appropriate;Divine love and protection. From Latin.

Ineffable - adj. beyond description in mere words. From Latin.

I guess really wasn't ineffable.

Burning Bush

I saw a burning bush just the other day. I was driving down a steet with lovely flowers on the median. I saw smoke and drove by cautiously. One flowering bush was lit up, but not in flames, yet. I called 911 and said there's a fire in the middle of the street. A few moments later it hit me. That was weird,

a burning bush!

A burning bush? What does that signify? When I told my son, he said maybe it's a sign of the apocalypse. A- po- ca- lips. What an interesting word. I know it must come from Greek (see the y as a vowel in the last syllable?). Now that I write it, I see that this word is related to calypso. Apocalypse means a prophetic disclosure or revelation. It comes from apokalupsis, a- po- ka- loop- sees, revelation. It is also the name of the last book of the Bible. Calypso means a type of music from Trinidad, but guess what, it is also the name of a character in Greek mythology. She is mentioned in the Odyssey.

So what does the burning bush signify? Big changes. There is a meeting this afternoon where I will find out the future of the program I have been working on for almost 4 years. Maybe next time I will discuss the term, "laid off."

I have another blog, musinglog.blogspot.com, which rarely gets comments. And this article is the one on this blog that gets lots of comments. I think they are all computer generated, though. I don't know why this blog draws them. I published this 2 years ago, and it is the one that still gets the most comments. Since this one gets the most attention, I want to point out my other blogs, hoping someone will notice ithem. They are both on the upper right of this page. Thank you for reading them!

You are invited to a meeting of the TBNGH at Books a Million in Palm Harbor on April 30, 2011. We are going to demonstrate Phone Hypnosis at 7 pm. The public is invited to watch and learn about the marriage of hypnosis and new technology!

Read about it on VerbalImpact.blogspot.com. There should be a link next to this one.

Antagonized

Have you ever noticed how similar the words agnostic and antagonistic are?

Just a thought from me as I write an article about spirituality and somehow type antagonistic instead of the word agnostic. A Freudian Slip perhaps?

Agnostic comes from Not know, in Greek, of course.

Antagonistic comes from Latin? I'll look it up and let you know. NO! It's from Greek, to struggle against.

Also hysterical and historical. One is Greek and the other Latin. They sound alike but have taken very different voyages into the English language.

Wispy Concoction

I have heard both words recently. And speaking of words with an interesting sound, like replenish (below), I like the way "wisp" sounds. It is somewhat soft with an abrupt ending. Maybe it’s the sibilant sound I enjoy, the “s” but sibilant sounds are also warning signs. Think of the "hiss" of a cat or snake. Wisp means a thin strip, a streak, or something frail or fleeting. The dictionary lists "wispish" in addition to "wispy" as adjectives. Wisp is from Middle English.

"Concoction" is a very harsh sounding word. It’s all the "k” sounds or "hard-c" sounds. And the vowels do nothing to soften it. Concoction is from Latin. and means a mixture, a potion or conglomeration, an invention. Something thrown together. Most often used with a liquid or perhaps a drink, maybe could be applied to a plate of food?

Concoct. v. to prepare by combining crude ingredients, or devise, fabricate.

How do I concoct these clever articles?! Are they clever or are they Wispy? Wispish?

I welcome your comments, be they clever or wispy!

Beaming with Confidence

I like that word, beaming. I didn't think it was a bona fide word when I read it a hundred times in Harry Potter. I thought it was just a British expression. I had to look it up. But if you look in the dictionary, one of the definitions of "beam" is to smile. I like it, because it comes with the shimmer and glimmer of a sunbeam. We do say a person's face lights up when they smile.

Which is a better title for my soon to be available CD, Beaming with Confidence or Brimming with Confidence? Or should we stay with Building Confidence. Or do you prefer Outrageous Confidence?

Replenish your vocabulary

I like the way this word sounds and feels on the tongue: replenish.

Replenish, as in replenish your spirit, with self-hypnosis. I’m listening to another audiobook and meditation is recommended. Well, self-hypnosis done on a daily basis is just as advantageous as daily meditation. And I think it will help you achieve concete goals faster. Meditation is great and I use both self-hypnosis and meditation often. But with meditation I quiet the mind, and with self-hypnosis I modify my behavior or beliefs with positive suggestions. So meditation is more subtle and more spiritual, perhaps. Self-hypnosis is more practical. I guess that's why I use both. I can see the advantages of both and choose which one will be more helpful for me today. And some days I do both. Neither one has to take longer than 20 minutes. It just depends on my schedule.

Genius

This post is for geniuses only. See http://musinglog.blogspot.com.

Oxidation vs. Oxygenation

Oxygen is not your enemy! Every organ in your body needs oxygen! So when they advise you to take anti-oxidants it is not to get rid of oxygen. It’s unfortunate that they named the process of losing an electron, “oxidation,” because I think it is misleading. Oxygen is an element capable of causing oxidation, but it is not the culprit inside your body that oxidizes cells and creates free radicals. Free radicals are those loose electrons which create havoc with your cells causing stress and speeding up the aging process.

So according to the experts, you need to ingest anti-oxidants to keep your cells healthy and prevent oxidation. You do not want to stop breathing and stop oxygenation of your cells. Oxygenation is good. Oxidation is bad. Okay, do we have that straight? I hope so!

A good anti-oxidant formula can be found here: www.shopbgb.com/gloriaEH.

Ecstasy

Where does the word ecstasy come from? "ec" as a suffix means out. So what is "stasy?"

I am ecstatic! Or should I say, I am euphorious! euphorious always means ecstatically joyous. Ecstasy can mean the extreme of any emotion, not just joy or happiness.

It says in the dictionary that ecstasy is a state of exalted delight, or a state of any emotion so intense that rational thought and self-control are obliterated. It comes from Greek through Latin, meaning to drive out of one's senses.

It also says that exaltation is more elevated than euphoria. Euphoria comes from Greek also.

Exaltation is from Latin, "up high."

Glitch

Glitch. Weird word. Harsh sounds. The opposite of melliflous. What is the opposite of melliflous, anyway?

It means mistake or bug, as in a computer bug, not an insect. It says malfunction or snag in my dictionary. But no etymology. I'll get back to you on that.

If I turn in a report late, I blame it on a computer glitch. They make for convenient excuses.

To Be or not to Besmirch

I have been giving this a lot of thought. You see, Besmirch and Smirch are synonyms, yet smirch is a transitive verb. So that means that you can besmirch someone, but not smirch them. Of course, after you besmirch them they can say they have been smirched, or even besmirched.

Makes perfect sense, right?! (stop smirking!)

To besmirch or not to smirch

Smirch not, lest you be besmirched!

Also, no desmirching, and for that matter, no smirking either!

I received an inquiry by email regarding the difference between smirch and besmirch, so let me explain. They are indeed synonyms.

Besmirch is a verb meaning to soil, to tarnish, to dishonor. There is not etymology listed, but there are other words from Middle English which start with "be-" and it seems the "be-" just emphasizes the word following it, making it seem more active and making it sound like something out of the Bible.

Smirch is a verb meaning to soil or dirty, or to smear, as well as to dishonor or defame. It comes from Middle English.

Smirk also comes from Middle English. It means to smile in a knowing or silly way. LOOK it up in here!

Super!

There are many synonyms for the word, OLD.

Superannuated is one. It means obsolete, antiquated, or retired because of being old or ineffective. From Latin. Super means above or beyond and annum means year.

Antiquated has a negative implication, it means out-of-date, obsolete, or old-fashioned. From Latin.

Antique has a positive implication. It means ancient, made in an earlier period or old-fashioned, but means more valuable because of age. From Latin, thru French.

I will be examining more of these words as I continue to become more knowledgeable about anti-aging techniques.

Preposterous Infamy

Nefarious and preposterous.
Nefarious. Is that the same as infamous? Preposterous!

Infamous- adj. characterized by negative celebrity; having a reputation of the worst kind. From in- which is not or negative, and famous which is well-known. Antonym: illustrious. From Latin.
Infamy - n. evil reputation brought about by something criminal or shocking. (Latin)
Nefarious - adj. flagrantly wicked or impious. Synonym: vicious. From Latin.
Preposterous - adj. contrary to nature or reason, absurd.

So it is not preposterous to state that nefarious is synonymous with infamous, but it would not be accurate. Infamous means being famous for being nefarious. They are related, but not synonymous.

I do like that word, "illustrious." Yes. You may refer to me as the Illustrious Philolog.

Salubrious Continuation

Salubrious means wholesome, healthful, beneficial. Maybe that's why we say, Salute! To your health! Yes, both are from the same Latin root.

Continuation means state of or act of continuing, progressing. It comes from the verb continue, which means to exist over a long period of time, to last, to carry forward, to persist, from Latin.

I'm looking for a better term for aging. And for old. Why do we say, How old are you? In other languages they say, how many years do you have? We could say that, too!

Melliflous Words

I admit it. I was wrong.

Yes, even the philolog is fallible.

I was wrong about the origin of the word "luscious." Luscious did not come to us from Latin by way of French. My dictionary says that it comes from Old English, from the word "delicious." I was disappointed by this etymology, until I figured it out. Just try to say delicious with your mouth full of a peanut butter sandwich!

Quash that attitude!

Quash is a verb. It comes to us via Middle English, via Middle French, via Latin. It means to nullify, suppress, or extinguish.

So if you want to be happy, then quash the positive attitude. Read Quash Those Dreams on musinglog.blogspot.com. Some people are just not happy unless they are miserable!

Miserable is an adjective related to the noun, miser. A miser is a mean grasping person, especially one who lives miserably in order to hoard his wealth. From Latin, through the same route as quash.

Luscious

Another melliflous word that I'd like to add to the previous article is...

Luscious.

I would have to guess it is from Latin, maybe by way of French.

Spendid!

Cherish is a lovely word, all cherry blossoms and adoration. Just so sweet (like cherries). It starts with a harsh sound, CH, and ends with a whisper, Shhh! The vowel sounds are short and neutral. Like exquisite. I savor that word! It sounds like a caress (another sweet word). I like the soft mellifluous sounds of some words. But another word I like is Splendid. And that has mostly strong harsh sounds and an abrupt ending. Abrupt is rather abrupt-sounding, too. So what is it about Spendid?! It's related to Splendor, which is a bit softer.

I'll update the etymologies later.

Check it out?

If you see this in a bookstore, take it to the checkout.
If you see this at the library, check it out!
Where did that expression come from?
Surely not the library! It must be from retail...
Check out means to pay one's bill and depart, as from a hotel or restaurant. It does not specifically refer to the library procedure of checking out a book. But that's just me, I frequent libraries more than hotels or motels. No one else would notice such an omission.
Check-out means the counter where you pay at a supermarket or other store.

There are many expressions that employ the word "check," but check it out is not in my dictionary. I'll do some further checking...

Please keep your impatience in check while I check up on this...

Let me check in with another reference book...

Check it out is not in any of my reference books, so it must be a young expression, not an old saying.

Perseverance

How do we achieve our goals? We must persevere. Or persist. Or stubbornly stick to it. We must refuse to give up. If you give up you fail. If you experience a momentary lapse, you have not failed, if you get back on the wagon. What I’m trying to say is, if you decide I’m going to do this no matter what gets in my way and no matter how long it takes, then success is guaranteed. If you get discouraged and give up after encountering any barrier at all failure is guaranteed. That is called self-sabotage and that is what ruins most of our plans. So if you make up your mind that you will achieve this goal, persevere no matter what, success is guaranteed.

The other thing is, that there are different ways to say the same thing. I may say he is infuriating, or he is stubborn. But what if I say, he is persistent, instead. That’s not quite so infuriating, is it? Persistence is good. Stubbornness is not.

Like I told my student last night you may look at someone as abnormal, weird, strange or crazy. But how about if you say instead, exceptional or outstanding or... eccentric. I had a Sociology professor who remarked that rich people are called "eccentric," but poor people are called "crazy." At the time I thought it was a wise and profound observation. I still do.


Persistence and perseverance are synonyms, like persistent and perseverant. Wait, there is no such word as "perseverant," the adjective form of perseverance. "Persevere" sounds so serious. My dictionary says that perseverance is more admirable than persistence, but I disagree. I like the word persistent because it is more neutral. It can be either good or bad. Tenacious and steadfast are other synonyms for persistent.

Tripping over words

Firstly, homophones are words that sound alike. We have discussed this before. These words are not strictly homophones, because they are not exactly alike. But could be mistaken for each other in certain situations.

Why are "inmate" and "intimate" so similar? I was reading an article and misread the word "intimates" as "inmates." It was referring to the people around you, with whom you have a close relationship. And it seemed appropriate, even though it was not talking about the friends around you with whom you share your prison. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe they are synonyms.

Invincible and invisible? If you were invisible, would you be invincible? Maybe I'm thinking about this because My son and I are reading The Hobbit.

Expiring and Aspiring? It's probably only me. I mean I tripped over the word "technological" last weekend, so in most circumstances people would not hear one of these words instead of the other, unless someone was nervous and speaking very fast and tripped over their tongue.

Cynicism and sinister!

Solvent or debt-free

I think it is interesting that solvent, which means debt-free, also means an abrasive cleanser. I guess it can be an unpleasant process to dissolve one's debts.

Dissolve means to terminate or disperse.

Resolve means to commit, to decide, to make a resolution.

Solve means to find the solution or answer to a puzzle or problem.

These words, as well as Solvent, Solution and Resolution are all related to the same LATIN root, which means to loosen.

One of my resolutions this year is to become Solvent and even Resolute, but not Dissolute.