Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Wonderful Words

Words are fabulous.  They are currency for writers.  We all try to spend them well.  Along the way, I have come across a few gems that I'd like to share.

Tenacity - In the book of James, he says "count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." James 1:2.3 NKJ.  Webster says that's tenacity, firmness of hold. 
I just love the idea of holding onto something so tightly that it hurts and never letting go.  I love trying and going on trying.  I may not apply tenacity to all areas of my life, but I like it as an overall goal.

Epiphany - My friend said this word is used incorrectly.  She may be right.  She says that it only refers to the appearance of Jesus in the incarnation.  Certainly it does apply to that and the appearance of the Holy Child to the wisemen.  It refers to the church celebration of this event.  Besides this, I always thought that it meant some bit of wisdom which came upon someone in a certain circumstance.  The closest thing Webster has to this is "to show forth" or "an appearance."  I still love the idea of some great thing hitting me by thought or emotion.  And I love the very sound of the word.

Eclectic - Webster says "composed of material gathered from various sources, systems, etc"  The first time I heard this word was in the first Bob Newhart Show with Suzanne Pleshette.  Suzanne (Emily) wanted to get rid of Bob's old ratty chair and she redecorated the apartment in a hodgepodge which she called eclectic.  I always loved Emily and her attitude and I loved that new word.  Now I decorate my house in what may be loosely called British Colonialism.  I have netting and a safari hat and beads and lace along with animal prints.  The style just lends itself to the eclectic air.

Well there you are.  Do you have favorite words? I'm sure I can come with a few more again some time. 

7 comments:

  1. Your interpretation of epiphany is the same as mine :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. These are interesting words. I'd have to agree with you about epiphany too. That's how I think of it.

    Happy Tuesday! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the word Eclectic! It describes me. :) Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think most of us have some room in our house we can call eclectic. We collect so many objects in a life time and I love the look.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like tenacity. We writers need a double dose of that one!



    ReplyDelete
  6. For some reason, I like facetious and the word pithy. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cozy... fortuitous... epiphany... rats in a poke...(guess that's a phrase -- picked that one up in Jan's Karon's Mitford series).


    ReplyDelete