Word

“Be careful what you say—you may have to eat your words.”

I don’t think so much about eating my words as about wearing them. When someone sees me, the words come back to haunt like a miasma around me. No matter how colourful my dress, bad words turn everything grey and muddy brown.

The >>Word of the Day<< today over at dictionary.com is >>oblation<<.

>>Oblation<< comes from the past participle form of the Latin verb* >>offerre<< meaning >>to bring<<.

So, an oblation is an offering or a gift.

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* A Latin verb is traditionally cited by giving four forms, in this case: offero, offerre, obtuli, oblatum.

My favourite word in the English language is »language«. However, if you gave me a slightly larger set of words to choose from I might have more difficulty expressing a preference.

I bought one of those Word-A-Day calendars to improve my vocabulary for college.

reify – to regard or treat (an abstraction) as if it had concrete or material existence.

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Words are like leaves; and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

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 – Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
 – An Essay on Criticism [1711], pt. II, l. 109

Which is more useful to you: a dictionary that tells you how to use a word or a dictionary that tells you how a word is used?

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Words like winter snowflakes.

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 – Homer (c. 700 B.C.)
 – The Iliad, bk. III, l. 222

Have you ever noticed that the only difference between »word« and »weird« are the vowels?

A word has the power to define, to bind, to create, to destroy. Truely, a poet has power undreamt of by kings.

Rotor is a fine palindrome, thought Frank Leigh Dearie as he ambled down the Lost Highway.

Words derive their meaning from the surrounding words, just as human beings derive their meaning from interacting with other humans around them.

The word on my mind right now is >>weekend<<. It's only a few hours away!

I can't wait to get away from this office!!

mortar my words
with particles
prepositions
adverbs
and conjunctions

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.

(John F. Kennedy)