With the Weekly Word I like to indulge a side of myself that is fascinated by language and especially the way it sounds when you roll it around inside your head. I often wonder who originally came up with the words that we all use, I mean someone had to invent the word ‘chair‘ or even ‘Antidisestablishmentarianism‘.
I want to challenge readers to find unusual, imaginative or correct usage of the words that I choose each week in a single sentence or a paragraph, encouraging them to use them here in the comments section, on Facebook or even on Twitter.
I’d also be happy to receive suggestions for future Weekly Words so go on, what’s your favourite word?
Past Weekly Words
- 31st December – Neuter
- 24th December – Jaundice
- 17th December – Fidget
- 10th December – Abstention
- 3rd December – Absolute
- 26th November – Adieu
- 19th November – Whimsical
- 12th November – Acrimony
- 5th November – Assayed
- 29th October – Stilted
- 22nd October – Zealot
- 15th October – Aberration
- 8th October – Syntax
- 24th September – Judicious
- 17th September – Phelgmatic
- 10th September – Doughty
- 3rd September – Contrary
- 27th August – Lackadaisical
- 20th August – Hysteria
- 6th August – Hammam
- 30th July – Heteroscedasticity
- 23rd July – Juxtaposition
- 16th July – Iconoclastic
- 9th July – Synchronicity
- 25th June – Synergistic
- 18th June – Epicurean
- 11th June – Compassion
- 4th June – Tumbling
- 28th May – Spicule
- 1st May – Oligarch
- 14th May – Fecund
- 7th May – Precocious
- 30th April – Loquacious
- 27th April – Eloquent
Why the Weekly Word?
The idea of the Weekly Word comes from Toastmasters International which is a speaking club I belong to. Each meeting we have a Grammarian Role and the purpose of the role is to try new words that stretch our vocabulary as well as to monitor and report back on people’s use of language. If you’d like to find out more about Toastmasters groups in your area then you can visit their website at: http://www.toastmasters.org/
Synchronicity…..The new wave post punk band the police(one of my faves)!fifth and final studio album released 1st june 1983. X
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Perfect Barb 🙂
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Hi Doug of Friday Fictioneers Fame used assayed which I shamelessly purloined for my own. It rolls off the tongue and intrigues me. So I offer assayed.
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That’s a great word and I’ll use it next week so we both have all week to think up a good alternative meaning – although I suspect you may already have one Bill
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happened to get invited to an executive briefing ( I certainly am not one ) but the presenter used “Nascent, ( correctly I might add ) – and I thought “that’s a word one doesn’t hear every day”.
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Nascent is so seldom used that I had to look it up. It’s the sort of word that ought to become popular in business today: for any new project or business coming into being. We should start using it more! Words only die if they cease to be used.
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yes, I think the young keep language growing, but it is up to us to keep the words alive.
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That’s very true Bill 🙂
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It certainly isn’t Bill – in fact I think I only come across it in the odd article and occasional book these days.
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I have found a flaw in this reply system. After posting a reply, I realised I had made a typing mistake but it wouldn’t let me edit it. I have had to duplicate the reply with the mistake removed. Sorry for the double reply above to billgncs.
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I’ve removed the duplicate Rosemary and yes, I’ve learnt the hard way to try and check before I hit submit … too many times have I noticed a grammatical or spelling error too late 😉
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Thanks, Linda.
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hello — hope you are well. I happened to be in another briefing, this time the speaker was ex-fbi ( I don’t know how I get into these ) but he offered up the word: “obfuscation” , which led me to wonder if the opposite might be “fuscate” — ie let me fuscate that point for you.
aren’t words amazing? – bw
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What a wonderful word – it just sounds so redolent of the confusion, intrigue and politics that go on – in fact the root of it does seem to be fuscate which is a Latin verb, fuscāte which related to fusco which means to become or make dark!!!!! Perfect eh! http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuscate
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I actually have an obfuscate / hubris story from my days being around UNIX geeks. I will have to put it together.
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Now, that would be a story I’d love to read 😉
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I saw this and thought to share it with you: acumen
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What a wonderful word Bill – I’ll use it in the Weekly Word next week 🙂
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hope your holidays were great.
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They were lovely and quiet, which was exactly what was needed. How about you?
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we had a great time. Now that my daughters are in their twenties, they can sit in the back seat of the car for a trip without fighting! Much better than when they were 5 or 10.
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That’s always a bonus of growing up – for the parents at least 🙂
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