Friday, July 6, 2012

Word Play


Four years ago, Jan gave me a word calendar. I love words and enjoy learning new words. I wasn’t sure what I would do with these new words in the calendar. I will admit I never used the words in an email or in conversation. I am a bit of a ‘pack rat’ and I saved the calendar just in case I would someday need it. That was in my pre-blogging days. When I write blog posts, I need every bit of help I can find, and was delighted to find my 2008 word calendar.

I would like to share some of these wonderful words with you:

1.      Hypocorism
Sentence        When I was a little girl, my brothers called me by the hypocorism Sissy.
Definition       Hypocorism comes from the Greek word, hypokorisma, meaning pet names.


2.      Millefleur
Sentence        A sixteenth century Flemish millefleur unicorn tapestry hangs in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
Definition       Millefleur came from French into English in the 18th century, meaning a pattern or background of many small flowers and plants.

3.      Officinal
Sentence        The officinal properties of a recently discovered plant are still being studied.
Definition       Officinal was derived from the Medieval Latin noun officiana, which means “workshop.” Officinal describes drugs, chemicals, and medicinal preparations. It is used mostly in the pharmaceutical field.

Now, don’t you feel smarter?

By Lois Jamieson

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