My Favorite, New-to-Me Words of the Year

I do love words,

and I bet you do, too.

I would like to thank Mareli of Elza's Reads for hosting Wondrous Words each month.

Wondrous Words, a meme where participants post once a month about words that interest them, affords me the opportunity to celebrate words.

Here are my favorite, new-to-me words from 2022.

BEJAKA

Swedish (bay-AH-kah)

"A word that frequently recurs in Swedish and is quite untranslatable outside the Scandinavian and Germanic languages, it encapsulates a whole philosophy. Livbejakelse consists of liv, meaning 'life,' and bejakelse, meaning 'saying yes,' hence 'affirmation of life.' Bejaka means an enthusiastic, optimistic, or joyful attitude, and, when applied to life, signifies far more than just agreeing to live. Within this one word we sense a greeting --- a welcome to all the vicissitudes that life may bring and an understanding acceptance of people and things as they are."

SELAH...

a quiet, reflective pause.

HUGFANGINN...

enthralled, absorbed, captivated.

RECIPROCITY...

As evidenced by the monarch and the milkweed...

"We are all bound by a covenant of reciprocity: plant breath for animal breath, winter and summer, predator and prey, grass and fire, night and day, living and dying. Water knows this, clouds know this. Soil and rocks know they are dancing in a continuous giveaway of making, unmaking, and making again the earth."

from Braiding Sweetgrass

OXYMORONICA (OK-se-mor-ON-uh-ca)

Any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations

 that on the surface appear false or illogical, 

but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true.

Did you discover any new words in 2022?

Do you write about words?

I encourage you to consider posting Wondrous Words

on the last Wednesday of the month

at Elza Reads.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Spooky Words I Don't Even Like to Say Aloud

You have been warned.

Okay. So now you know what a big baby I am about scary things...

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Words I Love

Words I Love 

(along with some of my favorite photos,

which may or may not be related to the accompanying word)

My dad on his 93rd birthday.

10. Serendipity
Life is play.

9. Paradox
All deep truth is paradoxical.
No one knows why.

8. Quirky
My real friends call me this,
not the less flattering "crazy".

7. J'aime
In French, this is pronounced "jim" and means "I love".
My husband's name is Jim.
It is fun to say, "J'aime Jim." 

6. Zephyr
I like "z" words.

5. Whimsy
I wish we had more of this in life.
I wish we had more of this in algebra.

4. Czechoslovakia
I planned to name my two children
this and "Yugoslavia."
Sadly, I grew up
and named them Jon and Ben.

3. Maranatha
The beautiful word I use in silent prayer.
It means, "Come, Lord."

2. Books
Obviously.

1. Yes

Studies show that just hearing the word "yes"
makes people happy.




What are words you love? 
Please share them with me.

Other word-ish lists I've made...

Top Ten Words I Love

Top Ten Words I Love (Part 2)

The 200 Happiest Words in Literature

The Most Common Words in the Titles of the Last 500 Books I've Read

Books With Single-Word Titles

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.    

ox-y-mor-on-i-ca

ox-y-mor-on-i-ca (OK-se-mor-ON-uh-ca)

noun

Any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations

 that on the surface appear false or illogical, 

but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true.

I find great truth in paradox.

Mardy Grothe does, too. He has spent many years compiling somewhere between eight and ten thousand oxymoronic quotes, and he's chosen his favorite 1400 for this book. 

Grothe divides up his favorites into categories: Wit & Humor; Sex, Love, and Romance; Political Oxymoronica; Oxymoronica on Stage and Screen; Artistic Oxymoronica; Oxymoronic Insults; Oxymoronic Advice; Literary Oxymoronica; and much more.

Here are some of my favorites about the meaning of life:

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering---

and it's all over much too soon."

---Woody Allen

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Life is easier than you'd think:

all that is necessary is to accept the impossible,

do without the indispensable,

and bear the intolerable."

---Kathleen Norris

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

And here are a few favorites about words, all from William Safire:

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Never use a long word when a diminutive one will suffice."

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: Resist hyperbole."

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Eschew obfuscation."

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Avoid awkward or affected alliteration."

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague."'

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

Do you have any favorite oxymoronica?

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Absurd Words

I couldn't resist checking out this book once I heard about it from a fellow blogger.

Here's the pitch: "There are over a million words in the English language, but the average person only uses 2% (for the math-challenged among us, that's 20,000---doesn't seem like much, does it?) of them! Why use those boring old words everyone else uses when you can expand and build your vocabulary---and have fun doing it!"

And what do I think? 

I was happy to see that I know most of the words (after all the target audience is kids, not grownups, like me). Still there is a solid 10% of words that are new-to-me, and that's nice.

Would a kid actually have fun learning these words? I would say a big Yes to that. The words are quirky and fun to say and have fun illustrations and have fun meanings. A random sampling? Mayhem...switcheroo...earworm...simpatico...persnickety...piffle...even quirky itself...so, fun, right?

I believe I need to pick out a few to add to my personal word bank.

Scofflaw (SKAWF-law) noun.

A person who repeatedly breaks rules or laws.

Taradiddle (tar-uh-DID-l) noun.

A tiny lie or fib.

Coxcomb (KOKS-kohm) noun.

Someone who thinks a lot of himself and struts around like a rooster.

Clishmaclaver (KLISH-muh-klay-ver) noun.

Gossip.

To help me remember these wonderful new words, I'll associate them all with a recent American political figure who I do not care for, despite my attempt to live by Jesus' admonition to "love your enemies." I'll keep this person anonymous but I'm sure you can fill in the blank with the name of a political figure you do not care for...surely we all have such a person in mind, no matter what our political beliefs are.

____________________ is a scofflaw and a coxcomb who uses taradiddles and clishmaclaver to get his way in politics. 

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Bibliophile: Avid Readers in France

I am a bibliophile. You probably are, too. 

A quarter of people in France consider themselves bibliophiles. More than 20% of the French people read 20 or more books a year.

It's obvious, even to a casual visitor.

You see people reading on the subway.

You see people reading in parks.

The bouquinistes along the Seine are classic.

There are bookstores everywhere.

Artists make paintings of readers, like this painting I saw at Monet's home in Giverny.

I even saw a Little Free Library when we were out in the French countryside.

And what was the occupation of the owner of our apartment we stayed in during our time in Paris? He was a writer. Of course.

Bibliophile. Bibliophilist. Erudite person. Bookworm. Booklover. Avid reader. 

Call them whatever you want, but they are everywhere in France.

My people.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Flâneur

From Wikipedia:

"Flâneur (/flæˈnjʊər/; French: [flɑˈnœʁ]) is a French noun referring to a person, literally meaning "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer." A flâneur is an ambivalent figure of urban affluence and modernity, representing the ability to wander detached from society with no other purpose than to be an acute observer of industrialized, contemporary life.

The flâneur was, first of all, a literary type from 19th-century France, essential to any picture of the streets of Paris. The word carried a set of rich associations: a person of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street. However, the flâneur's origins are to be found in journalism of the Restoration, and the politics of post-revolutionary public space. It was Walter Benjamin, drawing on the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, who made this figure the object of scholarly interest in the 20th century, as an emblematic archetype of urban, modern experience. Following Benjamin, the flâneur has become an important symbol for scholars, artists, and writers."

You can't help but be a flâneur when you visit Paris. It's an essential part of the visit. 

My sister and I spend one day walking around. You never know what you will see.

My first castle.

For a place that prides itself on freedom, there are many indications that perhaps freedom was not for everyone.

We see an old arch, but then we take a closer look.

I'm happy to see lovers.

This statue always makes me look twice.

Eventually, we end up along the Seine.

I've never bought anything here, but it's fun to look. And I always look.

There it is. It's what many fly 5,000 miles just to see. 

It makes my heart beat a little faster.

A flâneur. Yes, I think that's what I want to be when I grow up.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Service

Service. 

It's a word we don't seem to know much about here in the US.

AirFrance knows this word. AirFrance is all about service.

The flight attendant offered to take a photo of my sister and me on the plane to Paris.

A hanger was on my seat to hang up my coat during the flight.

We were brought a warm moist cloth towel for our hands before we ate. 

A cloth tablecloth was placed over the tray table.

Champagne! And French wine!

The first course. Real silverware. Real butter. Real bread.

The main course. With more champagne. 

Desserts.

Service: the action of helping or doing work for someone.

United Airlines...American Airlines...Delta Airlines...Southwest Airlines, are you listening?

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered, or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative! It was first created by Kathy over at Bermuda Onion and is now hosted at Elza Reads.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.