What’s in a word? we sometimes hear asked.
Well, if we recognize the word, we often already know what it’s about. If we don’t, there’s no telling what we’ll find out about it.
Such is the case if you pick up a dictionary and do a little perusing. Remember dictionaries? I rate them as PG (pre-Google). Never mind mentioning encyclopedias, those archaic volumes of information that went the way of the dinosaurs once everybody got a computer and cell phone.
For the record, I don’t have one of those “word of the day” calendars. I’m just weird in that I like to thumb through my dictionary — yes, I have one, and in fact, several — now and then to see what odd-looking words need investigating.
And today I’m bringing you along with me.
There was no way I was going to let a word like “rebozo” get by me. I bet money you’re picturing Bozo the Clown, just like I was. I figured rebozo defined somebody who’d portrayed the popular orange-haired character at one time, then decided to come out of retirement to “rebozo.”
Not even close.
A rebozo is a long shawl that women, mainly Mexican, wear over their heads and shoulders. It’s also a verb, meaning “to muffle with a shawl.”
How come we never got fun words like that in school that we had to use in a sentence? “Be quiet! Don’t make me come over there and rebozo you!”
Some words sound funny, but aren’t, sadly. “Marasmus” is one of them. I think it’d be a great name for somebody. Maybe one half of a set of twins, whose sibling would be Erasmus. It actually means a wasting away of the body, associated with inadequately assimilated food. Wasn’t that what we were served in school lunchrooms, assimilated food?
Just kidding. I loved eating there.
We all know what a gorilla is. But did you know that it comes from the Greek term “gorillai,” which means “tribe of hairy women?” I’m not making this up, ladies, so please retract your claws!
I saw “Gorgonzola” on a local menu recently, which turned out being a blue-veined, stinky cheese. For the life of me I would’ve sworn that it came from an old 1950s horror movie, something like “Godzilla vs. Gorgonzola.” It wasn’t, but if it had been, I’m sure it would’ve been pretty cheesy, and would’ve stunk, too.
I bet you’ve experienced “horripilation” a lot of times. It’s the bristling of hair, commonly called “goose bumps” or even “chicken skin.” Somebody should rewrite that old 1971 Carly Simon hit “Anticipation” and make it be about this word. Can’t you just imagine how fun that music video that would be?
How about “surculose?” Who wants to take a stab at that? It’s a botanical term, meaning “producing suckers.” I have no say-so in the publishing of dictionaries, but I think there should be a second definition that has something to do with pyramid schemes.
One more for the road: “bathophobic.” Some words just paint pictures in your head, don’t they? You’re thinking of fighting with the dog or cat in a tub of water, I’m sure. Maybe even stinky children or hippies. It actually has to do with the abnormal fear of depths. Just how deep could a bathtub be, my whacked mind has to wonder.
Anyhow, I hope this piqued your curiosity enough to pick up your dictionary now and then to discover some words that you never knew were out there.
Meanwhile, let us all try to not be slugabeds. We need to arise and broaden our vocabulary, and maybe we won’t divagate so much. After all, we don’t want to be thought nescient, do we?
Oh yeah, and Happy Two Two Twenty-two. I’m throwing that in because today’s the only 2/2/22 I’ll ever live to see!
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