Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Have you ever woken up in the morning and suddenly been hit by a distant memory you didn’t even know was buried in your mind? I recently have. No matter how hard I think about it, I can’t seem to remember where I first saw or heard the word “commensurate”. What I do remember, however, is waking up one morning and suddenly realizing it had resurfaced in my memory. I’m not even sure why; maybe it had come up in my dream the night before, but I definitely woke up thinking about it, and I quickly made a note to add it to my blog’s vocabulary list, or at least look it up to remember what it meant. It must have just sounded nice in my head, because I can’t imagine what dream I could have been having that made any reference to proportions…

Anything “commensurate” with something else is proportionate to or corresponds to it in size or degree. The word comes from the Latin adjective commensuratus, meaning “equally measured”. The roots of this adjective are the preposition com “together” and the verb mensurare “to measure”.

Note that evidently there are two ways to use the word “commensurate”: either followed or not by the preposition “with”. From my understanding, this slightly alters the meaning of the word. On the one hand, when used without the word “with”, it works as a synonym to “equivalent” or “proportionate”, such as in “commensurate values”. On the other hand, followed by the preposition, it means something more like “corresponding to” or “in line with”, as in “salary commensurate with qualifications”. Be sure to keep this in mind if you use this word, and you can write stories of a quality “commensurate” with your knowledgeability!

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

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

By now, many of you have probably heard this word a few times before, assuming you follow news on books and/or movies. I confess that I wasn’t familiar with it myself until I read a synopsis for the bestselling novel Divergent a couple of years ago. Those of you who know the story should already be aware that “Erudite” is one of the factions in the dystopian society of the novel’s future Chicago setting, and if you know what qualities they value most, you’ve no doubt already figured out what this word means.

An “erudite” person is someone who demonstrates an advanced level of knowledge and learning. The word comes from the Latin adjective eruditus “skilled”, which is also the past participle of the verb erudire “to educate”. This verb is based on the adjective rudis, meaning “undeveloped”.

I liked this adjective as soon as I learned it, most likely because I love any word that has to do with knowledge. From my understanding of it, this word is somewhat like others previously featured in my vocabulary segment, in the sense that it fits into a spectrum of synonyms. While I’ve seen words like “knowledgeable” used as a general term for people who are well-informed, “erudite” seems to be most applicable to actual scholars and people who place great importance on education. Perhaps that’s just my impression because I rarely see this word in context, but you may want to consider this if you ever decide to use it yourself. After all, I’m sure you’d like your audience to believe that the author of the stories they read is an “erudite” writer!

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Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Here’s another word I discovered thanks to vocabulary flashcards. If you’ve ever stumbled across this word before, did you have any idea what it meant the first time you saw/heard it? I didn’t. In all fairness, I really think I could have figured it out if I’d just spent a little more time thinking about it. Impatient as I am, though, I just turned the card over. Funny how it hit me then that I probably don’t take enough advantage of being fluent in a Latin language, because I actually recognized the roots of the word after I learned what it meant.

Anything defined as “antediluvian” is older than the Deluge, i.e. the great flood from the story of Noah’s Ark. Sitting near the extreme of the “old” spectrum, this word is comprised of two Latin roots: the preposition ante “before” and the noun diluvium “flood”. The latter stems from the verb diluere, meaning “to wash away”.

Apparently, there are two good uses for the word “antediluvian”: a formal one and a comical one. While doing research on this word, I noticed it was often used in a historical sense (mostly in a now-outdated approach to geology) to refer to the period of time before the Deluge in the Bible. In humor, it’s used satirically to mean “ridiculously old-fashioned”. Having rarely seen this word myself, though, I’m really not sure how I would use it in my writing, or even if I would use it at all. Still, it’s definitely unusual and it has the potential to sound clever in whatever context you choose, so feel free to use it as you see fit. Just be careful not to make your writing style seem too “antediluvian”!

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

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

“Caprice” is a word I recently stumbled upon while reading. It caught my attention right away, probably because it sounded so lovely in my head. “Caprice”… Kind of sounds like an actress’s name, doesn’t it? The fact that it actually is is beside the point; I just knew I wanted to learn more about the word as soon as I saw it. Interestingly, I found it made perfect sense in the context of the story I was reading, as the character who said it was referring to the behavior of an actor. And as we all know, many actors have a reputation for being the unpredictable and melodramatic type…

A person’s “caprice” is an unexpected and abrupt shift in their mood or behavior. The word has an interesting etymology behind it – one of my favorites so far, in fact – as it shares its origins with the Italian word capriccio, usually referring to a lively piece of music. According to Oxford Dictionaries, it translates as “head with the hair standing on end” and has been used since the early 17th century to denote a sudden change of mind. This noun is evidently comprised of the roots capo “head” and riccio “hedgehog” (which at least explains its literal definition).

Honestly, I would love to try working “caprice” into some of my stories. I think it has a sweet ring to it, though it’s even more mellifluous in Italian (but then again, what word isn’t?). I’d certainly enjoy writing characters whose actions are dramatically inexplicable, much like the actor in the story I read. I’m sure you could have fun with this word too, and if you’re like me, it’ll be easy to draw from personal experience; I’m notorious among my immediate family for my “caprices”!

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

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

You may have expected to see a different definition at the top of this post. That’s understandable; I know I was a bit surprised when I first read it on a vocabulary flashcard. Evidently, “tortuous” is one of those words thrown into standardized tests to evaluate students’ attention while reading; since it’s so similar to the word “torturous”, it’s easy to miss the difference or assume it has some grim meaning behind it, when in fact, it isn’t nearly as sinister.

Anything concrete described as “tortuous” has a generous share of twists and turns in it. When used to define something abstract, “tortuous” means overly complicated and long. The word comes from the Latin adjective tortuosus, which means “twisting”. This can be traced back to the verb tortus/torquere, meaning “to twist” or “to bend”.

If you want to incorporate the word “tortuous” into your writing, you may want to make sure your readers won’t confuse it with the more foreboding “torturous”. To avoid confusion, choose your descriptions carefully and be certain the word’s definition is clear in context. You probably won’t want your audience to think you’re writing about the “agonizing” paths of the world when you really mean “twisted”. But then again, if both adjectives apply, such mixups could make for some clever plays on words, don’t you think?

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

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?