Word of the Week: Litigious

by Naomi L. | February 17, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week | 0 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

And finally, when I thought you were making sexual advances in the workplace, I said no and I was not litigious.

– Rachel Green, Friends (Season 5, Episode 17 – The One With Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss)

If you’re as big a fan of Friends as I am, you no doubt remember this quote from an episode where Rachel is being interviewed for a job at Ralph Lauren. After humiliating herself by accidentally kissing her interviewer, mistaking a later gesture of his as a sexual advance, and yelling at him for his supposedly inappropriate behavior, she tries to convince him to hire her by listing all the qualities she had shown him up to that point. Among these was the fact that even though she had thought he was demanding a “bribe” in exchange for a job, she did not plan to sue him for it. And isn’t that something many employers hope for in a potential employee?

A “litigious” person is someone who is prone to settling disputes by going to law, especially unreasonably so. The word can be traced back through the Old French adjective litigieux to the Latin adjective litigiosus, which means “quarrelsome”. These, in turn, stem from the noun lis/litis, meaning “lawsuit”.

As far as I can remember, I’d never heard the word “litigious” before watching this episode of Friends, nor have I heard it used elsewhere since. Evidently, its use in speech has declined over time, though in my opinion, it doesn’t seem like the kind of word that would fit outside of legal commentary anyway. For that, you’ll probably never see it appear in my work, but you could easily make good use of it if your stories are themed around the practice of Law. If you write stories set in law firms and courtrooms, you already have a decent amount of “litigious” characters to work with!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Histrionic

by Naomi L. | February 10, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week | 4 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

“Histrionic” is one of those words that every artist should know, in my opinion. It’s especially relevant to those in the performing arts, as it can accurately define the level of work in which they’re involved. After all, it’s important for actors and writers alike to understand as much as possible about the spectrum of “drama”, right?

Actions described as “histrionic” are dramatic to an exaggerated degree. The word comes from the late Latin adjective histrionicus, which means something along the lines of “pertaining to acting”. This adjective stems from the noun histrio, meaning “actor” or “performer”.

This word is best known as the noun “histrionics”, which refers to theatrical behavior intended to draw attention. Notably, alternative definitions make references to acting and theatrics: as an adjective, it can be used as a formal word for describing things concerning acting, or in psychiatry as a type of personality disorder involving exaggerated emotions and attention-seeking behavior. It was also once used as a noun to mean “actor”, though that definition has since become archaic. Personally, I prefer to use it as the noun “histrionics”; there can be a lot of fun in writing about the absurdly dramatic behavior of fictional characters!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Facetious

by Naomi L. | February 3, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week | 4 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

“Facetious” is another word I’ve heard plenty of times, but that for some reason I almost never bothered to research. In truth, no matter how many times I’d hear it, I could never figure out what it meant, either because the context wasn’t clear or I just wasn’t paying enough attention (the latter being more likely). So finally, I broke my lazy streak and decided to look it up, and to my surprise, I found a definition that I probably never would have come up with on my own. That should teach me to ignore a chance at learning something new, right?

A “facetious” person or act is one noted for treating serious issues as a joke, inappropriately and on purpose. Originally used with the general definition “amusing”, this word arose in the late 16th century from the French adjective facétieux, which comes from the Latin noun facetia (“jest” or “joke”). The noun, in turn, stems from the adjective facetus, meaning “witty” or “clever”.

Note that other dictionaries provide slightly different definitions for “facetious”. It could refer to behavior that is playfully humorous, or it could define speech that is meant to be funny but that just comes off as annoying. Personally, though, I prefer the first definition I learned, so I would probably use this word for characters who know exactly what they’re doing when they poke fun at serious topics. I’d definitely like to try writing about mischievous characters and their “facetious” antics!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Quotidian

by Naomi L. | January 27, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week | 2 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

This is one of those words I like because they sound “fancy”. After all, what’s the fun of always considering common occurrences “everyday” when I can sometimes think of them as “quotidian”? It’s a pretty cool word to have in my vocabulary arsenal. I do have to wonder, though: is it ironic that the use of the word itself is uncommon in speech?

“Quotidian” refers to what happens on a daily basis, or to what is commonplace in a mundane way. The word stems from the Latin adjective quotidianus, meaning “everyday” or “ordinary”. Originally written cotidianus, the root of this adjective is the adverb cotidie “daily”.

In my opinion, “quotidian” sounds like a word that a character with a higher education would use. It’s easier to imagine a professor speaking of “quotidian” events while his students define the same occurrences as “everyday”. Still, it probably also fits well in narrative text, so it really depends on how you want to work it into your stories. Enjoy writing about the “quotidian” events in your plots!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Ostentatious

by Naomi L. | January 20, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week | 0 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Today’s vocabulary entry is a complementary post to last week’s. Remember how “opulent” indicates a lavish display of riches? Well, that’s a perfect example of “ostentatious” behavior, as it aims to impress more than anything else.

“Ostentatious” defines anything that is intended to draw attention in a very showy manner. Also known in its noun form “ostentation”, the word comes from the Latin noun ostentatio (“exhibition”), which in turn stems from the verb ostentare (“to show”). These can be traced back to the verb ostendere, meaning “to make clear” or “to point out”.

When describing a diversity of characters, “ostentatious” is a good word to consider for those who are the biggest show-offs. Note that so far, I’ve only ever seen this word being used to indicate actions involving concrete objects, so similar words like “pretentious” or “pedantic” are probably better options to convey abstract ideas. In any case, if your characters like to throw money around and constantly show off their possessions, their displays are “ostentatious” indeed!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?