Mirthful Wishes

Today is Earth Day. And the philolog can not be so mundane as to say Happy Earth Day, so I wish you a Mirthful Earth Day!

Officially, Earth Day was Wednesday, April 22.

Mirth. It's just a silly little word that tickles when you say it. My dictionary says it means spirited gaiety; social merriment. Synonyms: amusement, fun, delight, hilarity, jollity, joyfulness, and my all time favorite, Glee!

Wait a minute... jollity? I don't believe I've ever heard that word spoken or even seen it before in print. Nice to meet you, Jollity. Fortunately, the meaning is apparent as it looks so much like jolly. I guess Jolly is the adjective for the noun, Jollity.

I guess Merry is the adjective for Mirth. In addition to Mirthful, of course.

Mirth is from Old English.
Jollity is from Old French.

Hilarious! Well, maybe not, just slightly amusing, or maybe mildly interesting.

Small glitch

Glitch. I just like the sound of it. "Glitch" is just a very harsh monosyllabic word. I think it was probably rare before personal computers came into vogue. But now "computer glitch" is a very common expression. Especially around here. I blame everything on the computer glitch!


It's derived from German! I should have known!

It means mishap, malfunction.

Nincompoop (Unknown Origin)

Nincompoop.

Where in the world did that word come from?

My dictionary says "origin unknown." I hate that. If anyone knows where this word came from, please let me know!

Nincompoop. I have to say it sounds French. Or Faux French. I would venture a guess that it is a mispronunciation of another more arrogant word, maybe noncompliant, or nonconformist? My best guess would be that it comes from incompetant or non-competant.

It means fool or idiot. I think it is related to ninny, and possibly to nitwit and dimwit, other synonyms.

Tempest in a teapot

There's something you don't hear every day, "Tempest in a Teapot. "

I don't know why, I kinda like it. It means a big controversy about a trivial matter.

Aren't most of our fears really trivial when analyzed or disected?

Tempestuous. It means violent or turbulent. Tempest is a violent wind. Both are derived from a Latin word meaning "weather."

Just War?

Just is an interesting word. It has 2 meanings. As an adverb, it is synonomous with merely. As an adjective it is related to justice and justified (all from Latin), and means legitimate, or fair and impartial.

For example is there such a thing as a Just War? Is it possible to think that war is justified by the circumstances? Many people think so. But Thick Nhat Hanh in Creating True Peace would disagree. He embraces a philosophy of Peace and Nonviolence. He points out that violence always begets more violence and the only antidote to violence is peace. History has definitely shown that if you hurt or kill someone, someone else will kill or hurt someone in retribution. And so on and so on. Where does it end? Violence will not end violence it only generates more violence and hate. If we kill a terrorist, another will rise up to avenge the first.

It makes sense. Too much sense. Is the world ready for it?

Svelte

Svelte. It means thin, willowy. It sounds much better than "skinny."

It is the only word in my pocket dictionary which starts with s, v, an interesting combination.

It says it comes from Italian!

Pristine Beach

Pristine is a lovely adjective, so crisp and pure and sparkling, somehow there is the glint of cleanliness, freshness....

This is not a common word these days. It means: primitive, pure, untouched, unspoiled. Some synonyms for pristine are: immaculate, perfect, faultless, flawless, innocent, natural, spotless, pure, unblemished, unspoiled, wholesome.

Pristine comes to us from the Latin word for primitive.