“But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”
– George Gordon Byron
We all know the power of words. Whether written or spoken, words have shaped the hearts, minds, cultures, and creeds of mankind across all the histories of the world. They are the expression of our souls; a bridge that can connect and unite, as well as a poison that can kill more cruelly than any mortal weapon; a vast array of thoughts turned into imprints; a palette of a hundred thousand different colours; strange, ugly, beautiful, powerful, and entertaining.
And a writer’s purpose is to face off against this multi-faceted behemoth called the Written Word, and painstakingly mould from it a smaller, leaner beast, from which the rest of the world can better examine and, with some hope, admire.
But that is when words are brought together to create stories. What about words on their own? And now you may be wondering “well, what about them?”, to which I reply with: words can be just as strange, ugly, beautiful, powerful, and entertaining on their own, without conjoined together to form a description or explanation.
There are thousands of interesting words out there. I find myself discovering new ones all the time. I have some personal favourites, for various reasons, and I also have ones that I dislike, to various degrees. The relationship we, as individuals, have with words can be likened to the relationship we have with food; each enjoys and appreciates the flavours and textures of food differently.
Here are some of my personal favourites (either because I love the sound of the word, or the meaning, or both!):
Azure–light, purplish shade of blue
Creature–anything created, whether animate or inanimate
Ebony–a deep, lustrous black
Elder–of greater age
Emerald–a rare variety of beryl that is coloured green and valued as a gem
Ethereal–heavenly or celestial
Fenris–an enormous wolf, fathered by Loki, which killed Odin (Norse Mythology)
Flamboyant–strikingly bold or brilliant
Lithe–supple, flexible, graceful
Meow–the characteristic cry of a cat
Resonant–echoing, evocative, as sounds
Sapphire–any gem of corundum other than the ruby
Whelm–to submerge; engulf
Whimsical–given to whimsy or fanciful notions
Here are some of my least favourites (either because I dislike the sound, the meaning, or because of personal feelings I’ve attached to the words):
Bloke–an informal word for man
Derelict–left or deserted, as by the owner or guardian
Door–a moveable, usually solid, barrier for opening and closing an entranceway
Droll–amusing in an odd way
Fest–an assembly of people engaged in a common activity
Forced–strained, unnatural, or affected
Fork–an instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding and lifting
Leech–a bloodsucking or carnivorous aquatic or terrestrial worm
Macabre–gruesome or horrifying
Mucus–a viscous, slimy secretion of mucins, water, epithelial cells and leukocytes
Ogle–to look at amorously, flirtatiously, or impertinently
Quintessential–of the pure and essential essence of something
And here are some words I find fascinating (either because they are unusual, or the meaning interests me):
Aegis–protection; support
Amaranthine–immortal; undying; deep purple-red colour
Holm–island in a river
Homunculus–an artificially made dwarf, produced in a flask by an alchemist
Jabberwock–nonsense; gibberish
Miasma–an infectious or noxious vapour
Psithurism–the sound of wind through the trees
Sanguisugen–blood-sucking
Whiskerando–a whiskered person
Zoetic–living; vital
What are some of your favourite words? What are some words that you can’t stand? How about words which look or sound funny? Feel free to share your thoughts! After all, words are meant to be expressed.