My favorite words (and yours)
A week or so ago, the editorial staff at work enjoyed a visit from several of our contributing artists, who wooed us with strawberry and cream croissants. During a lull in the conversation (we were all licking our fingers, I’m sure), my boss, Jenny Doh, asked us each to reveal our favorite words. I wish I could relate some of the other favorites, but I was too busy wracking my brain trying to figure out what my own favorite word is to make good mental notes.
Finally, though, when it came to my turn, I had to admit that I didn’t have a favorite. I still don’t. There are so many great words out there, distinguished by their meaning or their sound or both, that it’s impossible to choose among them. More than that, since every word is, at one time or another, the perfect word, how is it possible to start arranging them preferentially? My admiration of any word is fluid, depending upon the context, my mood, or the time of day.
And then, too, there’s the fact that even when my fancy is caught by a particular word, after a few hours or days it is buried under so many other words that I loose track of it. The sparkly gem is forgotten within a pile of other sparkly gems.
Jenny laughingly called me a Word Snob, but I suppose I am more of a Word Smith, recognizing the utilitarian value of any writer’s most basic tool. A carpenter does not value nails less because they lack the twisting elegance of a screw!
I probably would not be blogging about this, except that earlier today Annie posted her list of things that make her happy. I thought about it, and I thought about the elusive nature of “favorite” words, and realized I could make my own list and keep it here where I can update it so often as the words require. Won’t it be nice to have a be nice to have a record of all these sparkly gems, captivating, encapsulated wonders of sound and sense, all in once place? Then I will be able to go back over it whenever I want and, no matter the limits of my faulty memory, recall all the amazing words that have tickled my fancy at one time or another.
I invite you to join me in this enterprise by sharing your own favorite words in the comments (and for this, my LiveJournal friends, I must ask that you come to the actual Artifacts site to comment). I will put a link to this post in the sidebar, and you can come and add a word at any time in the future you feel so inspired. Let’s see what sort of catalog of wonderful words we can assemble together!
To start off, here’s a few that have caught my attention today:
elixir
astute
elusive
shiny
What’s yours?
P.S. I apologize for the carpenter metaphor!
Awww! I think this is an excellent idea! I promise to return to add words as they inspire me
Comment by Annie — April 30, 2008 @ 5:35 pmI found my way to you from Maddie of Persisting Stars, and I am so glad that I did. I loved your post about words. I have many pages in old journals full of lists words. The lists are always different. As you described, words appeal at different times for different reasons. There are a few words that show up on every list, though. They are
blue
voyage
synchronicity
grin
catty-whompus
I’ll be back soon. Thanks for the lovely post.
Comment by Relyn — May 1, 2008 @ 7:17 amHmm.. favorite words:
Protagonist
Recalcitrant
Impetus
Indelible
Vespertine
I know this sort of looks like a list of less used words particularly chosen for this process, but I really do love these words… I have them in a list in one of my written journals somewhere. Love them!
Comment by Gabychka — May 1, 2008 @ 6:48 pmCurrent favorites and of course the classics…
Plethora
Succinct
Vaporous
Joyous
Opus
I love to remember words and use them on unsuspecting people… it gives them something to think about. I myself cannot get away from the first word on the list. I love the way it feels when you say it. Good words should feel good when you use them, don’t you think?
Comment by Melissa — May 1, 2008 @ 9:24 pmI actually maintain lists of words that I like and dislike.
Some words I like
hootenanny
Comment by Susan — May 2, 2008 @ 10:02 amknit
ah
where
twenty
mythology
ode
happenstance
beguiling
ethereal
and can i add a sentence that kellene gave me i adore?
“i’m all astonishment”
love it:)
Comment by madelyn — May 4, 2008 @ 7:31 amThe blogging world is a very strange, serendipitous,
we’re-all-connected kind of place. I was JUST THIS WEEK
(so help me, cross my heart) gonna add a list of MY favorite
words to MY blog. I didn’t do it,though, just thought about it,
and, lo & behold, I find my way here tonight. To discover I’m in
excellent company! How very, very cool!
I myself am partial to words with lots of vowels: asia, Michael,
Cairo, swoop. I am much more interested in how words LOOK when
written than in what they actually mean.
Isn’t it quite WONDERFUL that everyone here has different criteria
Comment by debi — June 14, 2008 @ 8:30 pmfor choosing a word as a favorite? i LOVE this post!
-nonparalleled
-exquisite
-pulchritudinous
These are pretty nice words! But doesn’t it scare you that sooner or later, there’ll be a word longer than “pulchritudinous?” Try saying that word five times…
Comment by Victoria — October 12, 2008 @ 4:12 pmsacred
Comment by Stace — October 15, 2008 @ 10:10 pmnonetheless (i had a band called ‘nonetheless’ .. sort of)
evermore (they sort of go hand in hand don’t they)
wistful
unwitting
Can I add non-english words?
(Japanese)
otonashii (docile)
kirei (beautiful)
sunao (meek/honest)
Ayako
makoto (truth)
himitsu (secret)
(and Swedish)
vacker (beautiful)
söt (cute)
hemlig (secret)
Matilda
The same meaning appears several times (secret, beautiful). I wonder if that means I am lured to like the word for its meaning rather than the word itself.
Comment by Kalle Alm — November 29, 2008 @ 6:45 amI can’t believe I missed this one. So awesomely beautiful.
Tengaibanri – the heavenly shores; very far away
Tengaibanri. Just saying that word makes me happy. And the meaning is cool too, though not sure which religion inspired the first meaning of the two.
Comment by Kalle Alm — November 30, 2008 @ 4:38 amMy three favorite words (since good things tend to come in threes):
Grace
Comment by Melodye — November 5, 2009 @ 4:27 pmHome
Love