Am I the only one who has ever wondered how many words there
actually are in the English language, or have you had the same thought? I’m hoping there are a few of you out there
who have these strange thoughts crossing their minds, if not I may have to
start to worry about myself! Anyway,
this week I have tried to find out the answer, with some interesting
results. It is difficult to find an exact
number, but would you believe that the Oxford English Dictionary lists over 250,000
distinct words, and this does not include many technical, scientific or slang
words. Wow – all those words, and yet we tend to use only a fraction of these on
a daily basis. Perhaps it is time to broaden our horizons and increase our
vocabulary.
With this idea in mind, I thought today we could start to
look at some interesting words that may be fun to work into a conversation with
someone, or into a written piece of work.
There are lots to choose from, but I will share with you my favourites.
Working in a systematic way I thought we could start with words beginning with “a”
and gradually work through the alphabet. So how about starting with “asinine” – which
means extremely or utterly foolish. The word dates back to the 15th
Century and is derived from the Latin “asininus” meaning ass or donkey like. We
could say something like “I will choose to ignore your asinine comment”, and
wait and see if there is any response. In
the past I have been asked if this is a rude word as it seems to include the
word ass – but do not worry it is a real word perfectly fine to use in polite
company!
Swiftly moving on let’s look at the word “balter”, which
when pronounced rhymes with Walter or alter.
I love this little word which means to tumble or dance clumsily, and can
also mean to tangle or stick together.
It is believed it is derived from the Middle English word “balteren”,
which is similar to the Danish “baltre” or “boltre”, meaning to roll or tumble.
Just as an aside, Balter is also found as a surname. Perhaps, one of the most
famous is Sam Balter who was part of the American basketball team which won the
gold medal in the 1936 Olympic Games.
Sorry, but when it comes to words beginning with “C” I have
had to cheat and include two, as I just could not decide upon my favourite. The
first is “cachinnator”, a very unusual word used to describe a person who
laughs loudly and immoderately. You may also talk of cachinnation, the act of
laughing loudly and cachinnate, which refers to a loud, immoderate laugh. The
roots of these words are found in the Latin word “cachinnare”.
The final word for this week also has its roots in Latin, “cockalorum”
– which describes a little man with a very high opinion of himself, and refers
to boastful talk. Before anyone asks, I have to tell you this word is also fine
to use in polite company as it compares the boasting to the crowing of a cockerel. Sorry, I just had to give this a mention!
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