Word Of the Day

So I got a Word-of-the-Day calendar, and thought this one was pretty interesting:

sesquipedalian - having many syllables: long. Using long words.
Well, duh.

The did you know fact: Horace, the Roman poet known for his satire, was merely being gently ironic when he cautioned young poets against using sesquipedalia verba - "words a foot and a half long" - in his book, Ars poetica, a collection of maxims about writing. But in the 17th century, English literary critics decided the word "sesquipedalian" could be very useful for lambasting writers using unnecessarily long words. Robert Southey used it to make two jibes at once when he wrote "the verses of [16th century English poet] Stephen Haws are as full of barbarous sesquipedalian Latinisms, as the profe of [the 18th-century periodical] the Rambler." The Latin prefix sesqui- is used in modern English to mean "one and a half times," as in "sesquicentennial" (a 150th anniversary).

The more ya know.

I knew what it meant LOL. Check my quotes and you'll find --

"Using a sesquipedalian is rarely polite, and never modest."
at 2011-11-15

Sort of tongue in cheek.

I know the word for phobia of long words:

hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

If it's getting difficult to read (it did to me when I first read it) read it like this:

hippo-poto-monstro-sesquippedalio-phobia

* yeah my mind is filled with the names of all stupid phobias...

Using a sesquipedalian is like licking your own eye brows:
it is a stretching of the tongue no one wants to witness.

Hmmm..that's something new I've learnt! Didn't know it..thanks for the explanation Britt :)

Nice, thanks for sharing, Britt! Now I want a word-of-the-day calendar. That would be fun to get educated about and expand vocab.

Britt was this word of the day only for one day?? o.O

Well my calendar is at work..so will post another one when I get there lol.

10th - pomaceous: of or relating to apples. Resembling a pome. "The kitchen was hot and thick with the pomaceous aroma of Nana's apple pies baking in the oven.

11th - wend: to direct one's course: travel, proceed. The hikers wended their way through the forest's trails toward the base camp.

Today: Addelpated: being mixed up: confused. Eccentric.
"Her addlepated mind flitted butterflylike from one often unrelated subject to another".

"Addelpated" - isn't that what the owl called falling in love in Bambi?

^ Ha, yes!

Really want to use "pomaceous" in a poem now. Or even better, in an actual conversation.

So strange, this word:

"pomaceous" reminded me of tomatoes. I can't get over the idea that tomatoes are berries. I just knew they were fruits.

Lol, isn't that weird?!

Today's word: Dolorous - causing, marked by, or expressing misery or grief.

With his dolorous songs about hard-bitten people down on their luck, Johnny Cash garnered legions of fans across generations.

Infinitesimal.................which means extremely small......which I find odd.......as the word is so big :?

I remember sad Delores
she was always so dolorous.

A word a day...these are words I've never come across and yes it does make you want to write a poem with these words.

Hey that is a good idea...a word a day poem! Get your pen and yourself inspired :)

Nice little couplets Sir :) the word Delores reminds me of Whoppie Goldberg in the movie "Sister Act".

Thanks for doing this Britt...its indeed helpful and informative.