Word of the Week #1

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:

Word of the Week - Iridescent Bubbleiridescent – /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!