Word of the Week: Emolument
Word: emolument
Pronunciation: ə-MAHL-yə-mənt
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
You may recall seeing today’s Word of the Week floating around the news a while back. A few months ago, some controversy in American politics likely sent a handful of people to the dictionary (myself included) to better understand the Title of Nobility Clause of the United States Constitution. Having done some research on the subject, I can understand why this was such a hot topic: we don’t want a president who’s going to be in violation of the “Emoluments” Clause from day one!
An “emolument” is a profit, salary, or fee from office or employment. The word arose in late Middle English and comes from the Latin noun emolumentum, meaning “advantage” or “benefit”. This noun derives from the verb emolere “to grind up”, which in turn consists of the preposition e- “throughout” and the verb molere “to grind”.
The original meaning of “emolument” in Latin was probably “payment to a miller for grinding grain”, hence its root in the Latin word for “grind”. This word is considered formal and is typically used in the plural form “emoluments”, as in the above example from the U.S. Constitution. If your stories include details about businesses and earnings from employment, “emolument” may be a good word to add to your vocabulary!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
A Brand New Year
So another new year has begun,
And we hope it’ll be a good one.
Though it still seems surreal
From the way that we feel,
We’ll at least try to make it more fun!
‘Cause the last year we suffered was rough.
For too many of us, it was tough.
From the people we lost
To the morals it cost,
Of Twenty Sixteen, we’ve had enough!
So we’re hoping this year to start clean
And to set a more promising scene.
We’ll let go of the past
And move forward at last.
Here’s to a bright Twenty Seventeen!
Happy New Year, dear readers! May you all have a blessed 2017!
The Year Ahead: What I Hope to Learn About Writing in 2017
Welcome to my first creative writing post of 2017! The great thing about January is that it brings the optimism of new beginnings and fresh goals to pursue (even if many of them fall by the wayside mid-year). Every year I make a fresh batch of resolutions for the most important aspects of my life, and my writing is definitely no exception!
So to start off this year on the right foot, here are a few resolutions I’m hoping to keep in 2017. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
To get published in a scientific journal
Now that I’ve finished my Master’s thesis, the next step is to be published in a scientific journal. A final requirement for attaining my degree is to submit the main chapter for publication within a year after completing the program, so I’ll need to finish the revisions with my coauthors and submit the paper before the year is up. It’ll probably feel like another mad dash, but if I survived my graduate program, I’m sure I’ll be able to meet my next goal in 2017!
To make a career out of my writing
Since I was a child, my dream has been to become a published fiction author. Now as a young adult, my horizons have been expanded to include blogging and scientific writing. Whatever I choose to write this year and the years to come, I hope to someday make a living out of my writing skills. I know that may be a tall order for just one year’s time, but I’m ready to at least take some major steps toward that goal in 2017!
To continue growing my blogging network
I know, I make this resolution every year, but it’s just as important now as it always was, if not more. I had fun networking with new writers last year, and I’d love to continue that momentum! It would be great to participate in more blogging events and even try a few guest post exchanges this year. Here’s hoping I’ll meet many more writers and readers in 2017!
What about you? Do you have any new resolutions for 2017? What are your plans for your writing?
Word of the Week: Surreal
Word: surreal
Pronunciation: sə-REE-əl
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: having the qualities of surrealism; bizarre
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson
Happy New Year! It’s the first Word of the Week of 2017, and since I ended 2016’s vocabulary segment with Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year, I figured it would be fun to start this year with Merriam-Webster‘s. This word was chosen for having been looked up far more often in the last year than in previous years, especially after certain significant events, and I couldn’t agree more: 2016 was an incredibly “surreal” year!
“Surreal” refers to anything that displays the qualities of Surrealism, that is, what is bizarre and irrational in nature. The word arose in the 1930s as a back-formation of the noun “surrealism”, defined as “a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind”. This noun derives from the French noun surréalisme, which comprises two roots: the prefix sur- “over” and the Latin adjective realis “actual”.
For years, “surreal” has been a favorite adjective of mine for describing things I find unbelievable or particularly unusual. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream”, a quality that defines the distinct style of the surrealist art movement. If the details in your stories tend to challenge the limits of reality, you may be set to create some interestingly “surreal” art in 2017!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
My Twenty Sixteen
My Twenty Sixteen was chaotic,
An interesting twelvemonth at best.
There were times when I felt in control,
And times I was put to the test.
I managed my greatest achievement
Through months of a studying spree,
‘Til at last I defended my thesis
And earned me a Master’s degree!
Though in writing I’ve always been active,
I found it was hard to keep pace.
With my thesis, my blog, and my novels,
This year’s been a creative race!
November by far closed the hardest
Of modern political years,
As I spent the eighth shaking profusely
And woke the next morning in tears.
Yet I’ve braved the emotion and chaos,
And I’m ready to start fresh and clean.
Let’s just hope it gets better from now on!
Have a Happy Twenty Seventeen!
Happy New Year to all my family, friends, and readers! I hope you had a pleasant 2016, and that you all have a wonderful 2017!
About J.C. Wolfe
Follow The Wolfe's (Writing) Den on WordPress.com
Read More…
Copyright
The Wolfe's (Writing) Den by J.C. Wolfe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Recent Comments