Word of the Week #1
23 Mar 2012 | No Comments | posted by Megan Onions | in English, Word of the Week
It’s Friday! The end of the week (hopefully) signals a slowing of pace as we head towards a few days of rest, or at least non-translation activities.
In a move away from more serious topics, I am planning to make this a series of posts, as I have many, many favourite words in several languages, not just the ones I work with. This week, I have chosen to dip into properties and colour:
iridescent – /ˌɪrɪˈdɛs(ə)nt/ (on a side note, I love the phonetic representations in dictionaries. I find myself saying the word out loud, and I think it helps the word stick in my mind).
According to the OED, this beautiful word means “showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles”.
I don’t think this rigid definition does justice to the fascinating, fluid and free image that the word conjures up, as is arguably the case for a huge number of words, but it is still a candidate for my top 10 favourite words.
Do any of my fellow linguists and word enthusiasts have a favourite? Please share it with me in the comments!
Oh and Happy Friday, everyone!
Megan’s proofreading has been very beneficial to me. I appreciate her accurate linguistic knowledge of English, and especially her stylistic recommendations.
