Magical Words
I love collecting interesting words. Sometimes I find them in books I read, and sometimes as I look for a way to say exactly what I mean. Discovering new words is like opening the door to somewhere I've not been before, and often sharpens and clarifies feelings or thoughts I haven't yet found a way to articulate. I share some favourites here, and invite you to mail me with ones of your own.
Halcyon
The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that this word is "often used to describe an idyllic time in the past," and that it refers to a time of great joy and prosperity. When I hear the word, I think of sitting on a rocky outcrop near the sea, the late afternoon light shimmering on the water, the scent of salt in the air. The dictionary also notes that it is "a bird identified with the kingfisher and held in ancient legend to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation." In The Lost Words, Robert MacFarlane associates halcyon with the kingfisher, and says it's also called "ripple-calmer."
Paean
Merriam-Webster defines this as "a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph," and for some reason, when I read this word, I think of the moment Rat and Mole meet the demigod, Pan, in Wind in the Willows. Rat, hearing Pan's pipes, says, "Such music I never dreamed of, and the call in it is stronger even than the music is sweet!" I think also of Wordsworth's words in the poem Tintern Abbey:
I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused,
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
And the round ocean and the living air,
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:
A motion and a spirit, that impels
All thinking things, all objects of all thought,
And rolls through all things.
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Limn
I don't remember when I first met this word, but I have loved it ever since. Merriam-Webster defines it as to draw or paint on a surface or to outline in clear sharp detail. I like the way limn references visual artistry, and imagine a painter at work, translating the lines and forms of what they see into an image on paper. I think of writing as a kind of limning too. As I craft words and sentences, I try to give shape and substance to thoughts and feelings I do not always know how to articulate or comprehend. It is in the attempt to form the words that meaning and clarity emerges.
Telluric
I came across this word in a quote by David Abrams, whose book, The Spell of the Sensuous, I highly recommend. The word has a couple of definitions, one relating to an element called tellurium. But the sense in which he used it denotes pertaining or belonging to the earth; terrestrial...of or proceeding from the earth or soil (The Free Dictionary). I love the word belonging in the definition, the sense that I belong to this place, that the earth is my home.
Juvenescence
Merriam-Webster defines juvenescence as "the state of being youthful or of growing young". I like the last part - "growing young". It's a word that seems perfect for Spring, when even the older trees in my garden are sprouting new leaves and the pear tree along the corner fenceline is full of bright buds. I too am experiencing a season of growth, venturing into new learnings, trying things. It's a challenge and an opportunity to practice "beginner's mind".
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Bimble
This word refers to walking at a leisurely pace. Words like tarrying, dillydallying, dawdling and unhurried come to mind - words that sometimes carry negative connotations, but that remind me of quiet afternoons in which there's nothing to do but wander contentedly, perhaps along an ocean shoreline or through the dappled light of a forest.
Foundle
This is a Sussex dialect word for a found object. I came across it in an article by Mark Hooper. (You can find the article here.) Hooper speaks about walking the South Downs with two women "who explore language and landscape in fascinating ways." One of the women - a sculptor - carved words into a chalkstone boulder, foundle being one of them. If you enjoy collecting bits of bark, feathers, shells, acorns, pebbles and the like, perhaps you, like me, have a collection of foundles on a windowsill somewhere.
Cynefin
The best way to explain this beautiful word is by quoting Owen Shiers, a Welsh folk musician: "A Welsh noun with no direct equivalent in English, its origins lie in a farming term to describe the habitual tracks and trails worn by animals in hillsides. The word has since morphed and deepened to conjure a very personal sense of place, belonging and familiarity." My home is this for me, as is Forest Paddock - where my horse lives with his friends. Where (or what) is your cynefin?
Susurrous
Merriam Webster defines this as "a whispering or rustling sound." It's a word that makes me think of the soft sighing whisper of the wind through the pines in the paddock, or the murmuring of poplars.
Petrichor
This is a word for the enchanting scent of the earth after rain - especially when the rain comes after a hot, dry season. I love rainy days, so this is one of my favourite smells. If I close my eyes I can imagine it.
