Wow! ABUNDANCE!

WOW! I got 11 VIEWS for this blog a few days ago.

What will bring more readers?

Bad words?

I've got one: vile.

I like this word. One syllable, but so very distasteful. Just saying it, twists your face and lips into a snarl, or maybe an expression of pure disgust. The facial expression actually gives you the meaning. I'm not sure if there are many other words like this....

Please comment if you know of one. Thanks!

Scoff

I scoff at fear!

Scoff is a weird, harsh little word. It almost sounds like a cough, which should be spelled coff.

More about spelling later!

Eke

Eek! What is this (eke)?

a verb, eke, which means to barely get by.

How are you eking out a living in this economy?

On This Auspicious Date

Today is 11-11-11. Is this a lucky day or what?!

I am ponderinging some monosyllablic words today.

Fresh and brisk can be synonyms is the sense of temperature (coolness), yet they each sound so different, Brisk is so quick and sudden, while Fresh is barely a whisper.

Auspicious is also an interesting word, though hardly a monosyllable.

Auspicious means propitious, showing or portending good fortune.

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 ... ?

Glut

Glut. Not a pleasant sound, for something that means abundance!

Glut. One syllable for an unlimited, bountiful word.

Too bad it's related to gluttony. That's definitely a negative. It's even one of the seven deadly sins!

Glut --n. surplus, excess. Not from Latin or Greek! From Old French.

Glutton -- n. 1. one who eats to excess. 2. one who has an enormous appetite for something.

gluttonous -- adj. greedy. or would hungry be better? Voracious, insatiable, and greedy are the synonyms in my thesaurus.

I'm not sure how this simple word accumulated so much negativity, but I thnk Glut is a perfectly nice, succinct word for Abundance. I think I would like to use it as an acronym for my next business project: Gloria's Luxurious Unlimited Table. Good name for a Restaurant. Gloria's Luxurious Unlimited Time, Test, Telephone. Tickle? Time Table. Text. Testament (maybe I could use it as a title for a book). Truth? Talk. Type. Tutorial.

Stay tuned for more of Gloria's Luxurious Unlimited Truths!

Daunting

The philolog's choice this month is the word, daunt in its various forms.

This word has come to us through Middle English and old French from Latin. I chose this word because it is monosyllablic and uncommon.

Daunt - v. to lessen the courage of. Synonyms: intimidate, discourage, dishearten, dismay.

Dauntless-adj. bold, fearless, undaunted, daring, indomitable, brave, courageous

Example: Taking exams can be daunting!

Clone or Crone

A few years ago, actually more than 10, I received a card from someone I worked with. It said Happy Birthday on it. Inside it said, You're now one year closer to the crone! I didn't know what to think. I asked another coworker. She said, you see, this is a compliment.

Crone means wise woman.

So does witch, but I wouldn't send a birthday card saying Happy Birthday to you, Witch!

Oh well.

Crone rhymes with Clone. A clone is a duplicate made from the same DNA, reproduced by artificial means, not naturally.

Crone must be a very old word. Clone is relatively new.

Deft or Daft?

As you know I like monosyllablic words.

Today I am intrigued by deft, and daft.

I think I may have written about daft a few years ago. It seems the British like to use that word.

Daft -- adj. silly, crazy. From Old English (OE). It's related to daffy.

Deft -- adj. apt, able, adept. It may be related to that word...? But it says that deft is from OE (the same word as daft) and adept from Latin. For some reason I came up with all words that begin with "a." This dictionary says skillful, and adroit.

There is a hypnosis presentation tonight at Books-A-Million in Palm Harbor FL. We will have several hypnotists deftly demonstrate hypnotic techniques to help you relax, reduce anxiety, and instill confidence. All of our presenters are deft. Some are even daft. Read about it on my other blog, Verbal Impact.

Please join us at 7PM!

Vast

Vast is a short sweet monosyllablic word. A small word for the broad, wide, huge, enormity of space. It's difficult to contemplate how vast the universe is.

I doubt it comes from Greek or Latin. Too short. I'll have to check.

Delightful D Words

Dash -- v. destroy quickly, or run fast.

Delve -- v. explore, dive in , dig, unearth.

What do these words have in common? They are both one syllable and start with the letter D.

Vile Villain

Vile is a monosyllabic word with several meanings.

1. common, of little value.
2. morally despicable or physically repulsive.
3. disgustingly or utterly bad. obnoxious, contemptible

It is from Latin.

I have never actually heard it used the first way.

It is related to villian, of course.

Villain means a scoundrel, criminal or uncouth person.

Within the Realm of Possibility

Are your dreams within the Realm of possiblity. Are they realistic?

Is realm related to realistic?

It's kind of old-fashioned or science fictionish. Maybe mathematical, ie. the realm of imaginary numbers.

Which Realm do you occupy?

Interesting word. From Old French. Definition:

1. A kingdom or domain.
2. The scope or range of power or influence.

I like to use my pocket dictionary as a reference for these posts, but recently, I discovered that the definition for festoon in my pocket dictionary was different from the

Fit and Trim

I am wondering why all the words for thin are so tiny. Like skinny, slim, thin, trim, fit, and my personal favorite, svelte.