A Bookish Sarah

encouragement & bookish things

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Sarah
Welcome, friend! Relax & rest awhile, if you please. I'm an ordinary girl, a follower of Christ, mama to Gabriel, Heidi, & Aidan; and wife to Evan. Here in this little space of the online world, I share all manner of bookish things, including full content reviews, writerly snippets, encouragement for everyday life, and a whole collection of names & their meanings.

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Encouragement

Lawfullness, Hip Bones, and Palabras

Words, words.  I love words.  Written words, mind you.  I'm not much of a speaker.  ;D  Some words are so fantastically awesome.  Have you heard of any of these?
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williwaw 
- a violent squall that blows in near-polar latitudes
(as in the Strait of Magellan, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands)
tutoyer
- [French] to address (someone), address familiarly
azoth
- mercury, regarded by the alchemists as the assumed first 
principle of all metals; the universal remedy of Paracelsus
palabra 
- [Spanish] a word; speech, talk
tintinnabular
- of or pertaining to bells or bell ringing
galoot
- an awkward, eccentric, or foolish person
iwis 
- certainly
nelipot
- one who walks barefoot
chansonette 
- a little song, a ditty

Whatcha think?  I found them on the website, Dictionary.com, where they post a daily word of the day.  As you can see above, some are simply hilarious!  Why don't you find a random word of your own and make a point to use it for the rest of this week?
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Hmm.  By now, I imagine you are wondering what's with the ridiculous title, right?  Well, I'll get to
that.

How did certain words that mean a certain thing come to mean something entirely different?

For example, "Dude! that's totally legit, man!"  Well. . . Did you know, the word legit is derived from legitimate, which means "according to law; lawful."  So, when someone says the above statement, they are, in essence, saying (if we're thinking literally here) "Dude! that's lawful!"  Haha, makes you think, yes?  How did legit come to mean "awesome" or "cool"?

Same thing with "hip" . . .
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"My parents aren't exactly hip, you know."

To me, that little word means the bone that sticks out a bit from the side of the pelvis and is attached to the upper femur of the leg.  In short, ma hip bone.  And dude, that's hip!  (Okay, horrible joke. . . Moving on.)  The term hip these days comes to mean "fashionable, stylish."  But how did that happen?

Good question.  Not sure how to answer that.  I did Google it, but so far came up with nothing. . . I guess the world just feels it needs to re-define some things.  I dunno.  By the way, no offense to anyone out there who do use these words.  There's nothing wrong with it.  You can say whatever you wish.  [Just don't misuse my God's name.  Use ice cream flavors!]

It seems I'm rambling.

So, in conclusion of this random post, I'd like to share a bit of my over-flowing wisdom.  (And promptly bow before you in utmost humbleness that I have such wisdom. . . *sweeps a flourishing bow* Yes, thank you, thank you.  Oh, you are too kind!)

A writing tip for you, dearies!  I know I've mentioned it before, but have you ever thought when writing in the various genres to use words that fit those particulars eras, times, places, etc?  For instance, if I was writing a period drama, set in England (No!), then would one of my characters exclaim, at one point, "Golly-bum, Lady Quackenbush!  Are you mad?"


Of course not!  In my opinion, this also applies when describing landscapes, people, objects, etc.  I've used this example many times, and it's stuck with me:  I once made the mistake of describing an exhilarating dragon-ride amid a flurry of marshmallow clouds.  Please note, this took place in a medieval/fantasy setting, and I don't believe marshmallows had even made an appearance yet.  But it's my world and my story, right?  Needless to say, I did change it.  :]

Moral of my mind-blowing wisdom:  Research your words.  Make 'em fit your genre-era.

I love reading old historical fictions, set in the early 1800s and "hear" them speaking in the rich dialect that seems to have been long forgotten.  Or experience the oral duels of western men and their cowboy slang (without the unnecessary cussin'.  Ice cream flavors, people!)

Thanks for reading!

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RANDOM FACT:
Did you know there is such a thing as a bibliophobe??  What is this, you may ask?  It is a person who hates, fears, or distrusts books.

WHAAAAAAT??  There's such a thing?  *faints amidst a heap of my preciouses*

Fairfarren, my friends.

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Comments

  1. Ok, I thought I was "hip," :P but I guess I don't want to be "hip," right? I don't want to be a "hip"bone...HAHAHAHA!!!

    Always Experiencing Him,
    MOM, aka "Super-Mom!" That works!!!
    :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Words are definitely the best! What would we writers be without them? Well...not writers, I suppose. XD

    Those words are awesome! I especially like williwaw and nelipot. Thank you for sharing, I love these!

    I'm constantly wondering where word meanings crop up from. Hip? Really? I mean, the hip bone is pretty important, but I don't think I'd call it all that fashionable...

    I absolutely agree about using the same word styles for the genre you write. I love reading a story and getting immersed in that time period by the well thought out narration. Very good advice! "Golly-bum, Lady Quackenbush! Are you mad?" XDDD Oh, Sarah.

    Wait, wait, wait! A fear of BOOKS? *gasp* How could such a thing BE??? *pulls a sofa over and faints with you*

    Hahaha, Sarah. XD I loved this post to death! You are too funny!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mom: xD Oh, Ma. That was merely a random example! heehee

    Christine: My pleasure! Yes, if you find any new/uniquely-ridiculous/funny word meanings, shoot 'em my way! I'd love to laugh with you!

    Haha! Why, thank you! I was rather proud of that phrase, myself. ;D

    I KNOW. How can it be?? BAHAHA! Your reaction! Only you can make me laugh while reading a comment!! xD

    ReplyDelete

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To each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass, and a book of rules,
And each must make, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
-Anonymous-

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