Thursday, December 23, 2010

Beautiful Words

Good were pointing yesterday to a list of the 100 most beautiful words in the English language (at least by their author, a someone who goes by the moniker Dr. Goodword of the site Alpha Dictionary.com).
For a words lover as myself, discovering those beautiful words was such a delight! Some of them are completely new to me (well, there is a debate going on on the Good's post page, whether some of these are in English or not...) so I couldn't stop walking around while murmuring to myself "What a Dulcet Lagniappe!" and "Oh, The Petrichor this morning is just fantastic!"

Here are some of my favorite from the list:
Demure: Shy and reserved
Diaphanous: Filmy
Dulcet: Sweet, sugary
Ebullience: Bubbling enthusiasm
Halcyon: Happy, sunny, care-free
Lagniappe: A special kind of gift
Lissome: Slender and graceful
Mellifluous: Sweet sounding
Petrichor: The smell of earth after rain
Scintilla: A spark or very small thing
Seraglio: Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem
Sumptuous: Lush, luxurious

How do you like discovering new words? Which are your favorite?

5 comments:

  1. I've always loved the word mellifluous- this is a great post- thanks for linking it- I also adore words.

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  2. in belgium there's a competition every year to add a new word to the dictionary. Usually it's news-related terms. I would really like a more poetic one like these in our language.

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  3. Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Such a lovely collection of words ... I very much like the look and sound of lissome and mellifluous ... I shall add them both to my vocabulary! :)

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  5. ooh! i love this! henry james says "summer afternoon" are the two most beautiful words in the english language. i was surprised they didn't make the cut!

    of course, i love the word "glamour."
    xo
    sami

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