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.
Redamancy is the act of loving the one that loves you. Redamancy derives from the Latin redamō (I requite love; I love back). Redamancy is quite the lovely word and it differentiates it's self from other words about love since it is one of the few that specifies reciprocity. Redamancy is about equal, giving, and… Continue reading Word Nerd: Redamancy
Lambent means having a gentle, luminous glow. Lambent also means marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression. Lambent derives from the Latin verb lambere (to lick) and it first appeared in the English language in the 17th century. At first lambent was used to describe the way flames or light played across surface, though… Continue reading Word Nerd: Lambent
Desultory means unenthusiastically lacking in consistency, constancy or visible order. Desultory derives from the Latin desultorius which was used to refer to a circus performer called a desultor whose trick was to leap back and forth from horse to horse. Both desultor and desultorius derive from the Latin salire (to leap). While a desultor is… Continue reading Word Nerd: Desultory
Iterum means again, anew, a second time. Iterum is a Latin word that derives from the Proto-Indo-European *i-tero-, from the pronominal root *i-, whence is. It's a new day, a new year, a new president with a new term, a fresh start all around and Iterum felt like an ideal word despite it being Latin… Continue reading Word Nerd: Iterum
Aureate means of a golden color or brilliance. Aureate has also extended to mean marked by grandiloquent and rhetorical style. Aureate derives from the Latin aurum (gold). While aureate does use Au (the chemical symbol for gold), much like auric (of, relating to, or derived from gold), aureate is used less scientifically and more in… Continue reading Word Nerd: Aureate
Knackered is defined as very tired, exhausted or worn down. Knackered is derived from knacker (to kill or wear out). Knackered also comes from the noun knacker which meant one who made harnesses or saddles. Knackered is considered British slang that originates from 1971, though the first recorded use of knacker dates to around 1885… Continue reading Word Nerd: Knackered
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