ap . pel .  la . tion/noun/  name, designation, title If you love words–their sounds, their meanings, their origins– you do know that exploring one word can lead you to another, which is not a bad thing, as long as you don’t go down the rabbit’s hole, which sometimes happens. I started looking at  the fleeting nature of words–their evanescence–and ended up thinking about something else. As children we were told to choose our words carefully because words once spoken can’t be hauled back in like a kite. This idea is true for us in adulthood as well. We, too, need to be careful how we use words, although from observation, I have concluded that some grownups, especially in high places today,…

pa . ren . the . sis/ noun / an intervening occurrence, an interlude; a word or phrase that is not directly related to what is being said or written but is added to give more information. ()   ()   () It’s not unusual for individuals to complain to me that they have a difficult time with grammar and punctuation. They can’t seem to keep track of which marks go where, they tell me. It’s understandable if you have a little hesitation about where to put a comma or a colon. The rules seem overwhelming sometimes, but once you understand how the rules governing the marks work in a sentence,…

per . am. bu . late/verb/ to walk or travel around a place or area, especially for pleasure, in a leisurely way We’re moving along quite nicely with our weekly vocabulary exercise. It may be that  you already knew most of the words  I have introduced, but my emphasis is not so much on vocabulary building as on the fact that certain words provide a good launching pad for a few thoughts that I hope prove provocative, instructive,  and useful to all who read the posts. Since perambulate means “to walk,” I was curious about the etymology, that is, the origin, of the surname “Walker.” It had an interesting beginning. It is derived from German.…

ca . ma . ra . de . rie/noun/ friendship, fellowship, companionship When the roses lose their fragrance, And the world seems at an end, When the day has lost its gladness, What a blessing  is a friend.                                 Anonymous The  word camaraderie  shouts togetherness. With its five fluid vowels, the syllables  huddle in closeness. It seems that today more than ever, we need the togetherness that this word suggests. There is another word that is often confused with camaraderie, and that is comradery, which means just about the same thing. But if you’re someone who  pays attention to the  sound of words, you’ll  notice that comradery is not as smooth-sounding, not as enticing in its…

in . scru . ta. ble/ adjective/ mysterious, unreasonable, unexplainable, incomprehensible I’m sure more than a few of us have questions about the way things are in this world, things that  seem to be beyond our control. They may not relate in any way to major existential matters; nonetheless, they make us ponder.  Sometimes they focus on workplace occurrences or on  the breakup of a  relationship. They may even be  far out of our personal sphere, such  as the recent two volcanoes, spewing lava and suffocating ash and snuffing out lives. Such  things  sometimes puzzle us and nudge us to seek for answers,  and  they can create stress when the  answers evade us. *** Our word for this week  gives off  negative vibes.…

   in . trac – ta . ble /adjective/ unmanageable, uncontrollable, troublesome, demanding   Of the many synonyms for the word intractable, the one that seems  applicable to perhaps the most popular technological device today, the cellphone,  is uncontrollable. Ask anyone with a smartphone whether he or she  can simply ignore it for even an hour, and you’re likely to get a No for an answer. It is the most ubiquitous of our modern gadgets and is as demanding as a newborn baby. In its brief existence among us, it has become an appendage as vital as a hand. Cellphones are creating a stir everywhere. Educators at all levels consider them a major problem. Teachers in  elementary schools  are faced with…

sa.lu.bri.ous/ adjective / healthy, health-giving, , healthful, wholesome, beneficial I like the supple sound of our word for this week. Some words sound just like what they mean. The literary term for this figure of speech is onomatopoeia. You may remember from your high school days  Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven” with its long word  tintinnabulation, a striking onomatopoeia.  Some simple examples are snap, crackle, and pop. Salubrious is not an onomatopoeia, but it certainly has an attractive sound to it, as if it exudes wellness  and health and good feelings, all of which are wrapped up in its meaning. I’ll take a minute here to make a usage comment. We often say that a particular…

anomaly / a . nom . a. ly / noun/  something different, abnormal, peculiar, deviating from the common rule   I hope that you find thinking about words and working with them as interesting as I do. This week’s word, anomaly, is one that I’m sure you’re familiar with. In our day anomalies abound both in the things that are “peculiar” and in those things that in their “deviation from the common rule” point out what is different from what we would expect. They are everyday happenings as well as  out-of-the ordinary occurrences that can’t be easily explained. This brings to mind something most of us have noticed recently regarding how public discourse in our society has deviated…

I wonder how many of you looked at the title of this week’s post and got ready to read something warm and exciting. I am not saying that you will be disappointed, but I’m not promising anything amorous and tender either. I got onto this topic because of an online exchange I read recently that had to do with a discussion of James Russell Lowell’s poignant poem “The First Snowfall.” The poem is a touching memorial of the death of Lowell’s young daughter the year before. It impresses the reader with it’s remarkable emotional strength and vivid description of nature. In one of the stanzas, the author captures the scene before him:   I stood…

Appearance (noun) “the way that someone or something looks to other people. ”  Cambridge Dictionary The word  “appearance” has an etymology that took it from Old French, through Latin and into Middle English to give us its present form. It has several meanings, both denotative and connotative, and it also appears in a number of idiomatic forms, but I have chosen to focus on the clear and easily understood  dictionary meaning given above since it best serves my purpose. I have a game that I play with words, often as a sleep-aid. I try to make as many words as possible out of a single word, no proper nouns, and using each…