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Happy National Scrabble Day - Images VIA

— 1 month ago with 231 notes
#Scrabble Day  #Scrabble  #Words  #Writing 
18 Fascinating Obsolete Words →

A list of words most of us never knew existed. Follow the link to read the article.

  1. Snoutfair: A person with a handsome countenance 
  2. Pussyvan: A flurry, temper 
  3. Wonder-wench: A sweetheart 
  4. Lunting: Walking while smoking a pipe 
  5. California widow: A married woman whose husband is away from her for any extended period 
  6. Groak: To silently watch someone while they are eating, hoping to be invited to join them 
  7. Jirble: To pour out (a liquid) with an unsteady hand: as, he jirbles out a dram 
  8. Curglaff: The shock felt in bathing when one first plunges into the cold water 
  9. Spermologer: A picker-up of trivia, of current news, a gossip monger, what we would today call a columnist 
  10. Tyromancy: Divining by the coagulation of cheese 
  11. Beef-witted: Having an inactive brain, thought to be from eating too much beef. 
  12. Queerplungers: Cheats who throw themselves into the water in order that they may be taken up by their accomplices, who carry them to one of the houses appointed by the Humane Society for the recovery of drowned persons, where they are rewarded by the society with a guinea each, and the supposed drowned person, pretending he was driven to that extremity by great necessity, is also frequently sent away with a contribution in his pocket. 
  13. Englishable: That which may be rendered into English 
  14. Resistentialism: The seemingly spiteful behaviour shown by inanimate objects 
  15. Bookwright: A writer of books; an author; a term of slight contempt 
  16. Soda-squirt: One who works at a soda fountain in New Mexico 
  17. With squirrel: Pregnant 
  18. Zafty: A person very easily imposed upon

by Carmel Lobello

— 2 months ago with 988 notes
#Words 
20 Words Inspired by People
begonia — ‘Any of various tropical or subtropical plants of the genus Begonia, widely cultivated as ornamentals for their usually asymmetrical, brightly coloured leaves’. After Michel Bégon (1638-1710), former governor of the French colony of Haiti and patron of botany.
bloomers — ‘A costume formerly worn by women and girls that was composed of loose trousers gathered about the ankles and worn under a short skirt’. After Amelia Bloomer, a women’s’ rights advocate who popularized the style in the early 1850s.
bowdlerize — ‘To remove material that is considered offensive or objectionable from (a book, for example)’. After Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825) who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare in 1818, leaving out things like Ophelia’s suicide (it was an accidental drowning, of course), and sanitizing Lady Macbeth’s ‘Out, damned spot!’ into to ‘Out, crimson spot!’
boycott — ‘To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavour or as a means of coercion’. After Captain Charles Boycott, a former British soldier serving as the estate agent for an absentee landlord, the Earl of Erne, in County Mayo, Ireland. During the Irish “Land War,” when Boycott refused his tenants’ demands for a 25% reduction in rates and began evicting them, politician Charles Parnell and the Irish Land League began to ostracize him and his family, depriving them of service in stores, mail delivery, and other necessities.
cardigan — ‘A knitted garment, such as a sweater or jacket, that opens down the full length of the front’. After the Seventh Earl of Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell (1797-1868), a British cavalry officer who led the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava during the Crimean War, supposedly while wearing his signature knitted wool waistcoat.
chauvinism — ‘1. Militant devotion to and glorification of one’s country; fanatical patriotism. 2. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one’s own gender, group, or kind’. After legendary French soldier Nicolas Chauvin, who served in Napoleon’s army and is credited with stupendously patriotic acts, including getting himself wounded 17 times. Supposedly, Napoleon himself presented the soldier with a Sabre of Honour.
dahlia — ‘Any of several plants of the genus Dahlia native to the mountains of Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, having tuberous roots and showy, rayed, variously coloured flower heads’. After Anders Dahl, an obscure Swedish botanist, whose name was given to the flower after his death by Abbe Antonio Jose Cavanilles, Director of the Royal Gardens of Madrid.
decibel — ‘A unit used to express relative difference in power or intensity, usually between two acoustic or electric signals, equal to ten times the common logarithm of the ratio of the two levels’. After Alexander Graham Bell — that is, a decibel is one tenth of a bel, the uncommonly-used unit of measurement named after the inventor of the telephone.
fuschia – ‘A dark purplish-red colour’. After Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566), the German scientist frequently cited as one of the founding fathers of botany. No stories of German scientists wearing pink here — it was the plant that was named for him; the word wasn’t used to describe colour until 1892.
guppy — ‘A small, brightly coloured live-bearing freshwater fish (Poecilia reticulata or Lebistes reticulatus), native to northern South America and adjacent islands of the West Indies and popular in home aquariums’. After R.J. Lechmere Guppy (1836-1916), the Trinidadian clergyman who supplied the first specimens of the fish to the British Museum.
jackanapes — ‘A conceited or impudent person’. After William de la Pole, Fourth Earl and First Duke of Suffolk (1396-1450), whose nickname was ‘Jacknapes’, derived from ‘Jack of Naples’, a slang term for a monkey. Yes, mocking the nouveau riche goes back to the 1300s.
leotard — ‘A snugly fitting, stretchable one-piece garment with or without sleeves that covers the torso, worn especially by dancers, gymnasts, acrobats, and those engaging in exercise workouts’. After Jules Léotard (1830-1870), the French aerialist who created the style.
masochism — ‘The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused’. After Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), the Austrian author of Venus in Furs, which has quite a bit of the stuff in there.
maverick — ‘1. An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it. 2. One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter’. After Samuel Augustus Maverick (1803–1870), a Texas lawyer and cattleman famous for refusing to brand his cattle.
pompadour — ‘A woman’s hairstyle formed by sweeping the hair straight up from the forehead into a high, turned-back roll’. After Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise de Pompadour, who was the official mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 until her death, rocked this hairstyle, and was accused of causing the Seven Years’ War.
saxophone — ‘A woodwind instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and a usually curved conical metal tube, including soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone sizes’. After Belgian instrument designer and musician Adolphe Sax, who invented the instrument in 1846. 
sandwich — ‘Two or more slices of bread with a filling such as meat or cheese placed between them’. After John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich credited with inventing the popular lunch item. As the story goes, the Earl was so busy at the card table that he didn’t have time to eat, and would ask his servants to bring him his meat and cheese stuck between two pieces of bread. When asked what they wanted, his friends would say, ‘the same as Sandwich!’ And thus the sandwich was named.
sideburns — ‘Growths of hair down the sides of a man’s face in front of the ears, especially when worn with the rest of the beard shaved off’. After American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, who had some super gnarly facial hair. ‘Burnside’ became ‘sideburns’ somehow, and the rest is history.
silhouette — ‘A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid colour’. After Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), a French finance minister who imposed strict economic restrictions on the rich during the Seven Years War. His name came to refer to anything done inexpensively, and particularly to the black outline portraits, the very cheapest way to capture your likeness.
wellington boots — ‘Knee-length or calf-length rubber or rubberised boots, worn esp. in wet conditions. Often shortened to wellies’. After Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington, who ‘invented’ the shoe when he asked his shoemaker to whip him up a modification of the 18th-century Hessian boot, something able to withstand battle as well as being comfortable to lounge about in in the evening.
By Emily Temple from Flavorwire 
Source for Image

20 Words Inspired by People

  1. begonia — ‘Any of various tropical or subtropical plants of the genus Begonia, widely cultivated as ornamentals for their usually asymmetrical, brightly coloured leaves’. After Michel Bégon (1638-1710), former governor of the French colony of Haiti and patron of botany.
  2. bloomers — ‘A costume formerly worn by women and girls that was composed of loose trousers gathered about the ankles and worn under a short skirt’. After Amelia Bloomer, a women’s’ rights advocate who popularized the style in the early 1850s.
  3. bowdlerize — ‘To remove material that is considered offensive or objectionable from (a book, for example)’. After Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825) who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare in 1818, leaving out things like Ophelia’s suicide (it was an accidental drowning, of course), and sanitizing Lady Macbeth’s ‘Out, damned spot!’ into to ‘Out, crimson spot!’
  4. boycott — ‘To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavour or as a means of coercion’. After Captain Charles Boycott, a former British soldier serving as the estate agent for an absentee landlord, the Earl of Erne, in County Mayo, Ireland. During the Irish “Land War,” when Boycott refused his tenants’ demands for a 25% reduction in rates and began evicting them, politician Charles Parnell and the Irish Land League began to ostracize him and his family, depriving them of service in stores, mail delivery, and other necessities.
  5. cardigan — ‘A knitted garment, such as a sweater or jacket, that opens down the full length of the front’. After the Seventh Earl of Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell (1797-1868), a British cavalry officer who led the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava during the Crimean War, supposedly while wearing his signature knitted wool waistcoat.
  6. chauvinism — ‘1. Militant devotion to and glorification of one’s country; fanatical patriotism. 2. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one’s own gender, group, or kind’. After legendary French soldier Nicolas Chauvin, who served in Napoleon’s army and is credited with stupendously patriotic acts, including getting himself wounded 17 times. Supposedly, Napoleon himself presented the soldier with a Sabre of Honour.
  7. dahlia — ‘Any of several plants of the genus Dahlia native to the mountains of Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, having tuberous roots and showy, rayed, variously coloured flower heads’. After Anders Dahl, an obscure Swedish botanist, whose name was given to the flower after his death by Abbe Antonio Jose Cavanilles, Director of the Royal Gardens of Madrid.
  8. decibel — ‘A unit used to express relative difference in power or intensity, usually between two acoustic or electric signals, equal to ten times the common logarithm of the ratio of the two levels’. After Alexander Graham Bell — that is, a decibel is one tenth of a bel, the uncommonly-used unit of measurement named after the inventor of the telephone.
  9. fuschia – ‘A dark purplish-red colour’. After Leonhart Fuchs (1501-1566), the German scientist frequently cited as one of the founding fathers of botany. No stories of German scientists wearing pink here — it was the plant that was named for him; the word wasn’t used to describe colour until 1892.
  10. guppy — ‘A small, brightly coloured live-bearing freshwater fish (Poecilia reticulata or Lebistes reticulatus), native to northern South America and adjacent islands of the West Indies and popular in home aquariums’. After R.J. Lechmere Guppy (1836-1916), the Trinidadian clergyman who supplied the first specimens of the fish to the British Museum.
  11. jackanapes — ‘A conceited or impudent person’. After William de la Pole, Fourth Earl and First Duke of Suffolk (1396-1450), whose nickname was ‘Jacknapes’, derived from ‘Jack of Naples’, a slang term for a monkey. Yes, mocking the nouveau riche goes back to the 1300s.
  12. leotard — ‘A snugly fitting, stretchable one-piece garment with or without sleeves that covers the torso, worn especially by dancers, gymnasts, acrobats, and those engaging in exercise workouts’. After Jules Léotard (1830-1870), the French aerialist who created the style.
  13. masochism — ‘The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused’. After Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), the Austrian author of Venus in Furs, which has quite a bit of the stuff in there.
  14. maverick — ‘1. An unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it. 2. One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter’. After Samuel Augustus Maverick (1803–1870), a Texas lawyer and cattleman famous for refusing to brand his cattle.
  15. pompadour — ‘A woman’s hairstyle formed by sweeping the hair straight up from the forehead into a high, turned-back roll’. After Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise de Pompadour, who was the official mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 until her death, rocked this hairstyle, and was accused of causing the Seven Years’ War.
  16. saxophone — ‘A woodwind instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and a usually curved conical metal tube, including soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone sizes’. After Belgian instrument designer and musician Adolphe Sax, who invented the instrument in 1846. 
  17. sandwich — ‘Two or more slices of bread with a filling such as meat or cheese placed between them’. After John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich credited with inventing the popular lunch item. As the story goes, the Earl was so busy at the card table that he didn’t have time to eat, and would ask his servants to bring him his meat and cheese stuck between two pieces of bread. When asked what they wanted, his friends would say, ‘the same as Sandwich!’ And thus the sandwich was named.
  18. sideburns — ‘Growths of hair down the sides of a man’s face in front of the ears, especially when worn with the rest of the beard shaved off’. After American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, who had some super gnarly facial hair. ‘Burnside’ became ‘sideburns’ somehow, and the rest is history.
  19. silhouette — ‘A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid colour’. After Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), a French finance minister who imposed strict economic restrictions on the rich during the Seven Years War. His name came to refer to anything done inexpensively, and particularly to the black outline portraits, the very cheapest way to capture your likeness.
  20. wellington boots — ‘Knee-length or calf-length rubber or rubberised boots, worn esp. in wet conditions. Often shortened to wellies’. After Arthur Wellesley the 1st Duke of Wellington, who ‘invented’ the shoe when he asked his shoemaker to whip him up a modification of the 18th-century Hessian boot, something able to withstand battle as well as being comfortable to lounge about in in the evening.

By Emily Temple from Flavorwire 

Source for Image

— 3 months ago with 148 notes
#lit  #words  #books 
"Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts."
Harper Lee
— 4 months ago with 488 notes
#Harper Lee  #Lit  #Words  #To Kill A Mockingbird 
Latin Phrases Everyone Should Know

Latin Phrases Everyone Should Know

— 5 months ago with 686 notes
#Education  #Words  #Writing  #Writers Write 
20 ways to say Ghost
by Mark Nichol
apparition
bogey
banshee
bogle
eidolon
familiar
haunt
materialization
phantasm
phantom
poltergeist
shade
shadow
spectre
spirit
spook
sprite
vision
visitant
wraith
Read the full article here
Image from Inkygirl.com

20 ways to say Ghost

by Mark Nichol

  1. apparition
  2. bogey
  3. banshee
  4. bogle
  5. eidolon
  6. familiar
  7. haunt
  8. materialization
  9. phantasm
  10. phantom
  11. poltergeist
  12. shade
  13. shadow
  14. spectre
  15. spirit
  16. spook
  17. sprite
  18. vision
  19. visitant
  20. wraith

Read the full article here

Image from Inkygirl.com

— 5 months ago with 111 notes
#Synonyms  #Ghost  #Words  #Writing Tips  #Writers Write 
100 Beautiful and Ugly Words
by Mark Nichol
One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature — look no further than the heading for this post.Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses
Beautiful Words
Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless
Beguile: deceive
Caprice: impulse
Cascade: steep waterfall
Cashmere: fine, delicate wool
Chrysalis: protective covering
Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color
Coalesce: unite, or fuse
Crepuscular: dim, or twilit
Crystalline: clear, or sparkling
Desultory: half-hearted, meandering
Diaphanous: gauzy
Dulcet: sweet
Ebullient: enthusiastic
Effervescent: bubbly
Elision: omission
Enchanted: charmed
Encompass: surround
Enrapture: delighted
Ephemeral: fleeting
Epiphany: revelation
Epitome: embodiment of the ideal
Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial
Etiquette: proper conduct
Evanescent: fleeting
Evocative: suggestive
Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize
Felicity: happiness, pleasantness
Filament: thread, strand
Halcyon: care-free
Idyllic: contentedly pleasing
Incorporeal: without form
Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous
Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable
Inexorable: relentless
Insouciance: nonchalance
Iridescent: luster
Languid: slow, listless
Lassitude: fatigue
Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement
Lithe: flexible, graceful
Lullaby: soothing song
Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light
Mellifluous: smooth, sweet
Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle
Murmur: soothing sound
Myriad: great number
Nebulous: indistinct
Opulent: ostentatious
Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe
Plethora: abundance
Quiescent: peaceful
Quintessential: most purely representative or typical
Radiant: glowing
Redolent: aromatic, evocative
Resonant: echoing, evocative
Resplendent: shining
Rhapsodic: intensely emotional
Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple
Scintilla: trace
Serendipitous: chance
Serene: peaceful
Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing
Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing
Spherical: ball-like, globular
Sublime: exalted, transcendent
Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich
Suffuse: flushed, full
Susurration: whispering
Symphony: harmonious assemblage
Talisman: charm, magical device
Tessellated: checkered in pattern
Tranquility: peacefulness
Vestige: trace
Zenith: highest point
Ugly Words
Cacophony: confused noise
Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval
Chafe: irritate, abrade
Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh
Cynical: distrustful, self-interested
Decrepit: worn-out, run-down
Disgust: aversion, distaste
Grimace: expression of disgust or pain
Grotesque: distorted, bizarre
Harangue: rant
Hirsute: hairy
Hoarse: harsh, grating
Leech: parasite,
Maladroit: clumsy
Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality
Obstreperous: noisy, unruly
Rancid: offensive, smelly
Repugnant: distasteful
Repulsive: disgusting
Shriek: sharp, screeching sound
Shrill: high-pitched sound
Shun: avoid, ostracize
Slaughter: butcher, carnage
Unctuous: smug, ingratiating
Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic
Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?
By Mark Nichol
Source for Article 
Source for Image

100 Beautiful and Ugly Words

by Mark Nichol

One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature — look no further than the heading for this post.
Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses

Beautiful Words

  • Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless
  • Beguile: deceive
  • Caprice: impulse
  • Cascade: steep waterfall
  • Cashmere: fine, delicate wool
  • Chrysalis: protective covering
  • Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color
  • Coalesce: unite, or fuse
  • Crepuscular: dim, or twilit
  • Crystalline: clear, or sparkling
  • Desultory: half-hearted, meandering
  • Diaphanous: gauzy
  • Dulcet: sweet
  • Ebullient: enthusiastic
  • Effervescent: bubbly
  • Elision: omission
  • Enchanted: charmed
  • Encompass: surround
  • Enrapture: delighted
  • Ephemeral: fleeting
  • Epiphany: revelation
  • Epitome: embodiment of the ideal
  • Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial
  • Etiquette: proper conduct
  • Evanescent: fleeting
  • Evocative: suggestive
  • Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize
  • Felicity: happiness, pleasantness
  • Filament: thread, strand
  • Halcyon: care-free
  • Idyllic: contentedly pleasing
  • Incorporeal: without form
  • Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous
  • Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable
  • Inexorable: relentless
  • Insouciance: nonchalance
  • Iridescent: luster
  • Languid: slow, listless
  • Lassitude: fatigue
  • Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement
  • Lithe: flexible, graceful
  • Lullaby: soothing song
  • Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light
  • Mellifluous: smooth, sweet
  • Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle
  • Murmur: soothing sound
  • Myriad: great number
  • Nebulous: indistinct
  • Opulent: ostentatious
  • Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe
  • Plethora: abundance
  • Quiescent: peaceful
  • Quintessential: most purely representative or typical
  • Radiant: glowing
  • Redolent: aromatic, evocative
  • Resonant: echoing, evocative
  • Resplendent: shining
  • Rhapsodic: intensely emotional
  • Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple
  • Scintilla: trace
  • Serendipitous: chance
  • Serene: peaceful
  • Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing
  • Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing
  • Spherical: ball-like, globular
  • Sublime: exalted, transcendent
  • Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich
  • Suffuse: flushed, full
  • Susurration: whispering
  • Symphony: harmonious assemblage
  • Talisman: charm, magical device
  • Tessellated: checkered in pattern
  • Tranquility: peacefulness
  • Vestige: trace
  • Zenith: highest point

Ugly Words

  • Cacophony: confused noise
  • Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval
  • Chafe: irritate, abrade
  • Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh
  • Cynical: distrustful, self-interested
  • Decrepit: worn-out, run-down
  • Disgust: aversion, distaste
  • Grimace: expression of disgust or pain
  • Grotesque: distorted, bizarre
  • Harangue: rant
  • Hirsute: hairy
  • Hoarse: harsh, grating
  • Leech: parasite,
  • Maladroit: clumsy
  • Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality
  • Obstreperous: noisy, unruly
  • Rancid: offensive, smelly
  • Repugnant: distasteful
  • Repulsive: disgusting
  • Shriek: sharp, screeching sound
  • Shrill: high-pitched sound
  • Shun: avoid, ostracize
  • Slaughter: butcher, carnage
  • Unctuous: smug, ingratiating
  • Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic

Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?

By Mark Nichol

Source for Article 

Source for Image

(Source: writerswrite.co.za)

— 6 months ago with 38847 notes
#Education  #Lit  #Words  #Writing  #Writing Advice  #Writing Tips  #Writers Write