Tag Archive for Word of the Month

Word of the Month: Apricity

David Zapatka Friend and fellow pickleball player, Natasha Thompson, writes, “‘Apricity’ means warmth of the sun in winter. Did I expand your vocabulary?” Yes, you have, Tash, and I expect you will be expanding our readers’ vocabulary with this word as well. Maybe you will even bring it back into use as it has fallen…

Word of the Month: Redolent

David Zapatka While reading The Metaphysics of Ping-Pong: Table Tennis as a Journey of Self Discovery by Guido Mina di Sospiro, I ran across the word redolent. His use of the word while describing table tennis rubber was intriguing. Redolent—red·​o·​lent adjective 1. Exuding fragrance: aromatic 2. Full of a specified fragrance: a. scented (air redolent of seaweed)…

Word of the Month: Pulse

David Zapatka David Wittenberg, fellow member of the Grammar Police Special Interest Group, wrote this in a recent post. “For most Indians, meat is not a staple. The majority of the Indian diet consists of grains, pulses, and vegetables. As a result, Indians don’t talk about meat the way Americans do. The terms ‘veg’ and…

Word of the Month: Bildungsroman

David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Gayle Covey, writes, “This is a really favorite word; bildungsroman. My friend Judy taught me this word several years ago … and now it comes up all the time! All those YA (Young Adult) fiction writers, turning books into films … and, of course, it is the word describing…

Word of the Month: Resilience

David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Pat Schlect, writes, “I was very happy to see your article in the Sun Lakes Splash.I loved the subject. The word I would choose for research is ‘resilience.’ Why? If you had to pick one characteristic or quality you’d most like to have, what would it be?…

Word of the Month: Verso and Recto

David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Gayle Covey, writes, “As always, enjoyed your SaddleBrooke word column. I’ve been saying I’d send a word or two. Finally … I’m an English major and a words person. How did I not know this? It just came up in Wordle (and I thought of you!) … verso. And…

Word of the Month: Emotion

David Zapatka Do emotions happen consciously or unconsciously? Can emotions be chosen or do they just happen? While reading “I Am: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are” by Howard Falco, I read, “Emotions are the clues that lead you to the treasure of everlasting peace.” Ponder this for a while. Are our emotions…

Word of the Month: Grimoires

David Zapatka Reader Tony Sciabica wrote, “I read your article in the April edition of the Crossing. I found the word sempiternal interesting. My use of the word would be the following: Eternal means to me something that has no beginning and no end.  Sempiternal has a beginning but no end. Semper fidelis has a beginning…

Word of the Month: Cenote

David Zapatka Reading in the Quest magazine recently, I came across the word cenote. Cenote—si-ˈnō-tē noun: a natural pit or deep sinkhole in limestone resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath with a pool at the bottom that is found especially in the Yucatán Peninsula. Origin and Etymology—Mexican Spanish, from Yucatec ts’onot…

Word of the Month: Eggcorn Reader Comments

David Zapatka July’s WOTM word, “eggcorn,” resulted in a flurry of reader comments. “Just read your article in the Pioneer Press about eggcorns, and it made me chuckle. I didn’t realize they were called eggcorns, but I’ve encountered a few of the same “slip of the ears.” One that always annoys me is when people say ‘It’s…