Kathy over at Bermudaonion's Weblog hosts Wondrous Words Wednesday. If you come across a word (or two) while reading that is new to you and would like to share your new knowledge, then hop over to Kathy's place and link up!
Here's what I've got this week from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne:
Crasis: (archaic) Composition; constitution; blending; makeup
Context:
This is all that ever staggered my faith in regard to Yorick's extraction, who by what I can remember of him, and by all accounts I could ever get of him, seemed not to have had a single drop of Danish blood in his whole crasis....
Mercurial: characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood
Heteroclite: a person or thing that deviates from the ordinary rule or form
Declensions: everything I can find on this seems to refer to the "inflection of words that serves to indicate number and gender"; I'm not sure how that applies hereGaieté de Cœur: Light-heartedness
--he was on the contrary, as mercurial and sublimated a composition,--as heteroclite a creature in all his declensions,--with as much life and whim and gaieté de cœur about him, as the kindliest climate could have engendered and put together.
Here's what I've got this week from Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne:
Crasis: (archaic) Composition; constitution; blending; makeup
Context:
This is all that ever staggered my faith in regard to Yorick's extraction, who by what I can remember of him, and by all accounts I could ever get of him, seemed not to have had a single drop of Danish blood in his whole crasis....
Mercurial: characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood
Heteroclite: a person or thing that deviates from the ordinary rule or form
Declensions: everything I can find on this seems to refer to the "inflection of words that serves to indicate number and gender"; I'm not sure how that applies hereGaieté de Cœur: Light-heartedness
--he was on the contrary, as mercurial and sublimated a composition,--as heteroclite a creature in all his declensions,--with as much life and whim and gaieté de cœur about him, as the kindliest climate could have engendered and put together.
The only one I knew is mercurial. I can always remember it because of mercury.
ReplyDeleteHi Bev,
ReplyDeleteI knew most of your words, but 'heteroclite' was definitely a new one on me!!
It sounds fantastic, one you can really get your tongue around, and one I shall definitely be trying to drop into a conversation ASAP!!!
Yvonne
I liked crasis, maybe because it's archaic, but I can see several times I could use that when evaluating things or people. I think we should bring that word back. Thanks Bev.
ReplyDeleteThat second sentence is sure a wordy workout! I hope the book isn't too much like that- I know I wouldn't be able to get through it if it was. Interesting words though
ReplyDeleteI like in French "Gaieté de coeur". It's a beautiful expression and i'd like to do everything with "gaieté de coeur"!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all these words !
Yikes, that's quite a sentence. A great one for this meme!
ReplyDelete