Why are there so many poetic ways to say “short-lived”? Are artists simply fascinated by the things in life that don’t last? I know I am, which is why I find today’s Word of the Week so intriguing. Maybe it’s the way it sounds, maybe it’s the images of fading flowers and vanishing bubbles it calls to my mind, or maybe it’s just because it reminds me of a certain gothic rock band I used to listen to all the time as a teenager. Whatever the reason, whenever I write need a word for something fleeting, “evanescent” may be one of my favorite words to consider!
Anything that is “evanescent” quickly fades or disappears, passing out of sight, memory, or existence. The word arose in the early 18th century in the sense “almost imperceptible” and comes from the Latin verb evanescere, meaning “to disappear”. This verb stems from two roots: the preposition ex “out of” and the adjective vanus “empty”.
“Evanescent” is another good example of a word with an adjective, a verb, and a noun form; the verb “evanesce” means to “pass out of sight, memory, or existence”, while the noun “evanescence” refers to the event of disappearing or the quality of being fleeting. According to Oxford Dictionaries, “evanescent” also has a specific definition in physics: “denoting a field or wave that extends into a region where it cannot propagate and whose amplitude therefore decreases with distance”. Similar to “ephemeral“, “evanescent” seems to be a chiefly literary term, so if you ever need to poetically describe the short-lived things or ideas in your stories, this is an excellent word to keep on your list!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Here’s another word I picked up from the Sonic Boom cartoon. After firing Tails as his sidekick (in an attempt to protect him from harm), Sonic holds interviews for potential replacements, the first of which to show up is another of his closest friends, Amy Rose. When Sonic reminds her that she doesn’t need to introduce herself to him, she hopefully infers that he’ll simply give her the job because of their friendship. It seems you can find “nepotism” even among heroes!
“Nepotism” is the practice of showing favor to friends or relatives, particularly by powerful or influential people. The word arose in the mid 17th century and traces back through the French noun népotisme to the Italian noun nepotismo. This noun stems from the noun nipote “nephew”, which in turn derives from the Latin noun nepos, meaning “descendant”.
If you’re wondering why “nepotism” originates from a word meaning “nephew”, there’s an interesting history behind it. From the Middle Ages to the late 17th century, it was common practice for popes to appoint their nephews to positions of preference and elevate them to the cardinalate, usually as a way to continue a papal dynasty. From this, it can be concluded that the word “nepotism” originally referred exclusively to favor for relatives and only later became applicable to friends as well. In modern times, it’s become a practice mainly associated with political power, though it can also be commonly seen in organizations. If you write powerful characters who like to favor their friends and family with job opportunities and the like, there’s definitely some “nepotism” going on in your stories!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Is it ironic to learn a word with four different meanings without seeing it used in any of them? Well, that’s how I came across today’s Word of the Week, another one picked up from the Elevate – Brain Training app. It sounds like a word I could have gotten familiar with sooner if I read more poetry, but as it happens, I’ve only ever seen it in the Spelling game. Still, with four definitions, I’d definitely take on this word as a writing challenge: to find as many ways as possible to “adumbrate” something in my stories!
To “adumbrate” something is to either represent or report it in outline, indicate it faintly, foreshadow or symbolize it, or overshadow it. The word arose in the late 16th century and comes from the Latin verb adumbrare, meaning “to shade”. This verb stems from the verb umbrare “to cast a shadow”, which in turn derives from the noun umbra “shadow”.
Though I only just learned the word “adumbrate”, I admit I already find it intriguing, not just for its multiple definitions but for how they’re all connected by the root word “shadow”: creating or perceiving a shadow of a larger picture, foreshadowing future events, or overshadowing one idea with another. While Oxford Dictionaries emphasize representation in outline as its primary definition (especially in American English), it should work equally well in any of the others. The real challenge is finding a way to work all four meanings into one written work! So if you ever find yourself needing to summarize, evidence, signify, or obscure anything in your stories, “adumbrate” is an excellent word to add to your list! Good luck!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Okay, perhaps I went with a more common word for this week’s vocabulary post. To be honest, I find this one particularly interesting because I’ve seen and heard various forms of it: as nouns, as a verb, and even as an adjective. It seems to be a popular choice for referring to combinations and mixtures. Why “unite” two things into one when you can “amalgamate” them instead?
To “amalgamate” two or more things is to combine them into a single structure or organization. The word arose in the early 17th century and comes from the Latin verb amalgamare “to mix”, which in turn stems from the noun amalgama, meaning “mercury alloy”. This noun derives from the Greek noun málagma, which means “emollient”.
A less common definition for the word “amalgamate” is in chemistry, where it’s usually used in the adjective form “amalgamated” to indicate a metal that has been alloyed with mercury. Note that the verb “amalgamate” stems from the noun “amalgam”, which means “a mixture or blend” or “an alloy of mercury with another metal”. I myself tend to use it most often in its noun form “amalgamation”, the action of combining or uniting. If you often join things in your stories and feel that common words like “merge” and “unite” are overused, “amalgamate” and its related forms are good words to keep on your vocabulary list!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
Here’s an interesting example of a word I first learned in its secondary definition before its primary meaning. When I started the data analysis for my thesis, I learned how to construct phylogenetic trees in a software program called PAUP*, which includes a step that searches for the best trees for a given dataset based on trial and error. Some time later, I noticed a featured iPad app in the iOS App Store designed to help readers learn Shakespeare for themselves. What do these two things have in common? They both have “heuristic” approaches!
Something described as “heuristic” allows someone to learn or discover a given subject for themselves. As a computing term, a “heuristic” procedure toward a solution is carried out by trial and error or loosely defined rules. The word arose in the early 19th century and derives from an irregular form of the Greek verb heurískō, meaning “I find”.
While not a particularly well-known word, “heuristic” could possibly be used as a poetic alternative for “hands-on”. Note that it can also function as a noun to refer to “a heuristic process or method”. I assume the word would most commonly refer to teaching approaches that allow students to learn on their own (as is the case of the “Heuristic Shakespeare” project), though people familiar with computing terms might also recognize it as a reference to trial-and-error programs (such as the “heuristic search” option in PAUP*). If you write about characters who prefer to learn things for themselves or even about computer programs that run on loosely defined rules, “heuristic” is a good word to add to your vocabulary list!
Here’s a funny example of a word I actually learned through a mix-up that changed the entire meaning of the sentence, in this case from an episode of the popular sitcom Frasier. After Niles’s ex-wife Maris accidentally kills her lover, Niles and his family find themselves in the middle of a media storm that turns their lives upside down. In an attempt to clear his brother’s name, Frasier offers to give a statement on the news claiming that Maris and Niles should soon be freed from all accusations. Unfortunately, he only makes things worse when he gets his words muddled up and accidentally uses “execute” in place of “exonerate”!
To “exonerate” someone is to free them from blame for a crime or other wrongdoing, especially as an official act by a body of authority. The word arose in late Middle English and comes from the Latin verb exonerare, meaning “to free from a burden”. This verb comprises two roots: the preposition ex “from” and the noun onus “burden”.
The main definition of “exonerate” refers to an official release from guilt, though it can also be used more informally in the sense “to release someone from a duty or obligation”. If you ever need to free your characters from blame or some other burden, “exonerate” is a good word to keep on your list. Just be careful not to get your words mixed up, or your characters could be in for some serious injustice!
[enter Niles and Daphne, looking unamused]
Frasier: Oh, Daphne, Niles. Listen, I’m so sorry about today’s little gaffe. You know what I meant.
Daphne: Oh, don’t worry. Anyone can make a little slip. We know you were only trying to ruin our lives- I mean, help.
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
J.C. Wolfe is a fiction writer, biologist, and aspiring novelist of science fantasy and romance. A natural-born American and graduate in Marine Ecology from a university in Brazil, J.C. now writes for a living in California while spending free time blogging and penning stories and poetry.
J.C. Wolfe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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