Quote:
Originally Posted by Loosheesh
I come across odd words from time to time but the two that have really stayed with me a while are discombobulate (found this one in a Harlequin romance more than 20 years ago; I do use it from time to time, mostly when I'm being facetious  ) and cachinnation (this one I found in Jane Eyre: " curious cachinnation" - so delightful!  )
Finding odd words is one of my favorite things about reading  |
And yet, it seems, modern writers are discouraged from getting too adventurous with their vocabulary. I know I got queried about using
susurrus ... but I said if Pratchett could get away with it in a kids book then having it in a book intended for adults should be fine. (Admittedly in Pratchett's "
Wee Free Men" the definition is given along with the word.) Still, I think an author can get away with the occasional interesting word without offending too many people, especially if the context assists with understanding - as it often does.
I do like cachinnation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Yet another example of why a knowledge of Latin is so useful in understanding English words. Anyone with a knowledge of Latin would immediately recognise that it comes from the Latin verb "munero", which means "to give as a gift" or "to reward". I hear people say that learning Latin is irrelevant in today's world, but it's something I constantly find useful.
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My first reaction would be that knowing Latin gives me just another language to be confused in.
... But the truth is that I am quite jealous of those that were taught Latin in school - like my wife. The rural school I attended only offered what was called "An Introduction to Modern Languages", which covered French, German, Indonesian and Japanese all in one year. It's wonderful to be able to count to ten for people when I meet them, and if I really push my memory I might be able to say hello in some (probably inappropriate) form. But that's about it.