Word of the Day: imago

Today's Dictionary.com word of the day:

imago \ih-MAH-goh\, noun:

1. An idealized concept of a loved one, formed in childhood and retained unaltered in adult life.
2. Entomology. An adult insect.

Example: "She pictured him retaining, year after year, her imago in his heart, as strongly as his was impressed upon her own at that moment."
-- Ellen Wallace, King's Cope: a novel

I don't know why, but I just really liked this word today. I guess it just has such a romantic quality.

Word of the Day: orthoepy

Dictionary.com's word of the day:

orthoepy \awr-THOH-uh-pee\, noun:

1. The study of correct pronunciation.
2. The study of the relationship between the pronunciation of words and their orthography.

Adopt a Word!

So I just came across the most amazing campaign on the Obsolete blog: Save the Words. It's a campaign from Oxford Dictionaries to save words that are no longer commonly used from being deleted from the English language. You can choose a word to adopt from their long list of words or have them pick one out for you. The goal is to get people to adopt words and use them in life, on the internet, in art, or anywhere else that will get it noticed. You can even buy a t-shirt that has your adopted word written across it!

I just adopted "squiriferous," which means, "having the qualities of a gentleman." Since gentlemanly qualities seem to be on their way to extinction as well, I thought this would be an appropriate word to save!

If you want to save a word, (or twenty!), go to the website, register, and pick a word! By the way, it's totally free. Let me know if you pick one! We can all be adoptive parents together :)

The Apostrophe.

People seem to have the hardest time (inexplicably) understanding how to use the apostrophe. The example I continue to encounter is, "attorney's." This is possessive. However, people continue to write it this way when they intend to make "attorney" plural. Why anyone who has had an American elementary school education, public or private, should still believe that an apostrophe is always needed to make a word plural is quite beyond my understanding.

In case you are one of the perpetrators of this sad misuse of punctuation, here is a wikiHow.com article to enlighten you on the use of the apostrophe: How to Use Apostrophes.

My Recommended Reads

I recently read a novel, (which I will not name here), that had, at some point, been on the New York Times Best Sellers list. I had decently high expectations since this is a pretty big feat for any writer. Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed. Though the concept of the story was very nice, (though not entirely original in my view), the writing was terrible. It attempted to be too many things and evoke too many differing reactions. So, in an effort to help those of you who read to experience writing that is art, rather than just a good story, here are a few books I recommend that fulfill both requirements. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

• Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
• Eureka Street: A Novel of Ireland Like No Other, by Robert McLiam Wilson
• Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
• The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton

(These are the ones I can think of right now. I'll post more as I think of them.)

Word of the Day: Impedimenta

Dictionary.com's word of the day:

impedimenta
Baggage or other things that retard one's progress.

I really enjoy this word. I think it's because it sounds like a spell from Harry Potter.... :P

The Absence of Words

I just finished reading Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves reading for the beauty of the writing, rather than just the plot. Du Maurier's description of the grounds at the great house of Manderley is exquisite. You can see the flowers in bloom, smell the multitude of scents, and feel the rain dripping softly on your head. It always amazes me how great writers are able to string together collections of individual words to make beautiful sentences that perfectly convey images or emotions.

Another detail that impressed me about Rebecca was how the absence of words made a significant impact in one case. The main character of the novel is a shy and unrefined young woman who falls in love with and marries the older and wealthy Maximilian de Winter in 1930s England. She finds herself overwhelmed by her sudden ascent to her position as mistress of a great house and the wife of a well-known aristocrat. She also becomes increasingly intimidated by the memory of the late Mrs. de Winter, who was well-bred, beautiful, and hugely popular among her acquaintances.

While one might assume the novel is named for the young Mrs. de Winter, "Rebecca" is, in fact, the late Mrs. de Winter. While she is the narrator and the main character of the novel, the new Mrs. de Winter's name is never given. She is entirely nameless at the beginning of the novel, and is subsequently only referred to as "Mrs. de Winter" or "madam." I found the subtly of this omission very intriguing. The narrator has no identity outside of her position as mistress of Manderley, so she has no name other than that of "Mrs. de Winter." Meanwhile, the character who isn't even alive at any point during the novel is not only given a name, but is the book's namesake as well. I was so impressed by the way the author was able to portray her heroine's mental state through such a simple thing as leaving her nameless.

So even though I love how words can create wonderful images and spell out complex emotions, I was thoroughly intrigued by the message that came across so clearly through the omission of words in Rebecca.

I hope everyone else finds this interesting as well. If not, you should still read Rebecca; it's a wonderfully written suspense novel that I think most people will enjoy!