Add some whimsy to your life
Word Nerd is an on-going feature that shares and highlights unique, whimsical and sometimes forgotten or overlooked words. It’s dedicated to the logophile in us all.
Meliorism is the belief that the world can be improved through human effort. Meliorism was most likely drawn from the Latin melior (better) or the English meliorate, which is a synonym of ameliorate (to make better). Many credit British novelist George Eliot with coining meliorism and meliorist (an advocate of meliorism) in 1877, though meliorist… Continue reading Word Nerd: Meliorism
Lagom is a Swedish term and philosophy that means just the right amount. Of course, lagom (like many Swedish terms) doesn't have a true English language equivalent, rather more an attempt to capture the essence of the word. Lagom är bäst or The right amount is best, is a Swedish proverb that sums up the… Continue reading Word Nerd: Lagom
Numpty (alternatively spelled numptie) is an amusing word that describes an idiot, dolt or fool. Everyone knows a few numpties (just glance at political news, that's practically all one sees) and many have even acted like a numpty on (the hopefully rare) occasion. Numpty is of Scottish origin deriving from the obsolete term numps (a… Continue reading Word Nerd: Numpty
