“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.