Magnamimous Charisma

I'm contemplating 2 mellifluous words this morning: charisma and magnanimous!

Charisma is a noun meaning 1. an extraordinary power (such as healing) given to a Christian by the Holy Spirit; 2A. a personal magic of leadership, arousing extreme loyalty; 2B. a special magnetic charm or appeal. It comes from the ancient Greek word for rejoice.

Magnamimous is an adjective meaning 1. showing a lofty or courageous spirit; 2. generous and forgiving. It comes from Latin.

These definitions are taken from Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Enjoy!

Surge or Splurge

The Dictionary is telling me to spend money! This is the advice I got: You should allow yourself to splurge once in a while!

Splash
splurge
spend
surge

How are these words related?!
Splurge means to spend extravagantly or ostentatiously. Wow! 2 more extravagant words!

The word splurge was first used around 1830, and may be a combination of spend and surge. Perhaps spend and urge?

But where did the lovely L come from. This is an unusual combination of letters, S-P-L, with an interesting sound. Onomatopeia gives us "splash" which sounds like a wave crashing on some rocks.

Splurge is the word of the day as I heard it somewhere this morning...

Although I do not consider myself extravagant, I do get the urge to splurge once in a while!

Skirmishes

Skirmish is an unusual word. It means disruption or disagreement. Hens may have a skirmish with each other.

Squirm kinda sounds like it, but they have different origins. must be Latin.

Can you dig it?

D-Words

Deliver  D letter D sooner D better.

Just a flashback from a long time ago!

I was wondering why there are so many words that start with D that mean to destroy:
decimate
destroy
devastate
demolish
denigrate
and detonate.

Also, another intriguing D word, a monosyllabic word, somewhat rare:
Delve.

Delve means to dig, uncover or pry. Can't be Greek. Must be ... ?

Take my Advice

I would like to give you some advice about spelling. Some words are easily confused, like advise and advice. Advise is a verb and advice is the noun.

These aren't exactly homophones, they sound different, and the spelling is different. But since C can have the same sound as S, some people get them mixed up.

All I can say is, I advise you to consult a dictionary before sending a message or a letter. I don't think spelling counts in a text. Actually, you lose points for spelling all the words out. . . Do they charge per letter??!!

I wonder if there is a word for words commonly spelled like another word. I bet there is...Are there any other wordsmiths or philologs out there who want to advise me?

Thanks.

Gibberish

I like gibberish. I don’t know how to spell it, tho.

Gibberish, nonsense, rubbish. Gabble, twaddle, claptrap. Balderdash, drivel, baloney, tripe.

I knew there were a lot of words for nonsense, but I've never encountered some of these before. Twaddle? Gabble? Interesting sounds.

Wait a minute. Isn't tripe also a food? A fish or intestines or something some people eat?!

OMG. I just looked up Tripe. This is what it says:
Tripe (from Italian trippa) is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.

Offal means internal organs.

Gross.

Enough of this twaddle. Get back to work!

Between a rock and a stone...

Listen to these words:

Feather ... Stone

Why does feather sound so light and floating? And why does stone sound so heavy?

How about Rock? It sounds hard. Even more solid than stone.

I guess that's why they say "Between a rock and a hard place." It sounds much worse than "Between a stone and a hard place."

Toy

Put that down! It's not a toy!

I think toy is a weird word. Where in the world did it come from?

My pocket dictionary says from Middle English and Dutch.

It means a child's plaything, something inconsequential, or a small ornament.

I still sounds weird to me if you think about it for awhile.

Exquisite

more e words. today they just seem so euphonious. I was thinking of elegant and exquisite...

exquisite has a foreign exotic sound to it, yet such a lush, extravagant connotation. words conjure up visuals for me...

I do love words.

I guess I am a philologue.

Wait a minute!

I am THE philolog!

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...

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!

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.

Florida Holidays

I heard Bing Crosby singing on the radio this morning. A local channel is playing ALL Christmas songs, ALL the time. You see, they have to. Even with the pink flamingoes wearing santa hats, it is just so easy to forget that Christmas will be here in less than 3 weeks!

Sleigh Bells ring, are you listening, in the lane snow is glistening…

You never hear that word, “glistening” except for Christmastime. It’s a sweet word. It carries an image with it. I can see a drop of dew glistening on a leaf. There is no snow here to glisten in the lane.

I also like gleam, glitter and glimmer. I would guess they are Dutch or Germanic in origin. They all mean something like sparkle or shine. Sparkle, now there is a cute word!

Happy Holidays! Hope your holidays glisten and your outfit sparkles and there’s a glimmer in your spouse's eyes when they see you on New Year’s Eve.