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One word beginning with each letter of the alphabet, a series
“Words are the most powerful thing in the universe… Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear, and they produce after their kind.”
—Charles Capps
For my funeral, I have instructed my wife to play the Bee Gees song Words as the soundtrack for the obligatory pre-service video of still photos depicting my life.
I believe that words are mightier than deeds because words inspire deeds, whether good or bad. Words send armies into battle and brides to the altar. Words establish peace terms and terms of endearment. Words sting like bees and taste like honey. Words babble like a brook and roar like the rapids. They soar and sink. They heal and harm. They fuss. They fight. They fool around. They meander. They wander. They lift. They linger. How they linger.
I have always been captivated by words, bound to them in a lifelong love affair. They are both my master and muse, my means of expression and my vehicle for connection. Words are my sanctuary, my refuge, my obsession, my purpose, my instrument, and my solace. Though words sometimes escape me, I have never been able to escape their grasp—not even for a moment, not even in my dreams.
This is the backdrop and inspiration for the project I am introducing with this post. It marks the first in an open-ended series exploring words I enjoy, presented in alphabetical order. The selection will span a broad spectrum. My appreciation for a word does not necessarily equate to an endorsement of its implications. Maybe it does. Maybe not.
Join me on this journey to discover new words or to deepen your appreciation for familiar ones.
A – Aberration: (Noun) a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving. An aberration is unexpected and hard to predict, like a Dallas Cowboys playoff appearance.
B – Benign (Adjective): pleasant and kind; not harmful or severe. If describing a harmless old man or a noncancerous mole, benign is a good word.
C – Cauldron (Noun): a large, round, usually metal container for cooking in, usually supported over a fire, and used especially in the past. Not much call for using the word “cauldron” anymore, which makes it perfect to use. Work it in when you can.
D – Dilapidated (Adjective): (esp. of a structure) in bad condition and needing repair. Some relationships are like this, too, in disrepair, not well kept, left to decay.
E – Ethereal (Adjective): very light and delicate, especially in a way that does not seem to come from the real, physical world. Not quite physical but not necessarily celestial. It has a spiritual quality. Kind of hard to put your finger on.
F – Foible (Noun): a strange habit or characteristic that is seen as not important and not harming anyone. Think of it as a quirk, a personality tick. It may be annoying but it is harmless.
G – Garble (Noun): to make words or messages unclear and difficult to understand. How many university professors excel at garbled communication? Still, they get to grade the papers.
H – Honorific (Noun): showing or giving honor or respect. Might be a title given to someone, like “Doctor” or “Chief.” Call me Chief Gyrasticutus if you don’t mind.
I – Ignoble (Adjective): morally bad and making you feel ashamed. It is the opposite of “noble.” An ignoble deed vs a noble deed.
J – Justify (Verb): to give or to be a good reason for. Man, I like that definition! Justification is used in spiritual terms to indicate that Jesus stamps the sinner with a clean bill of spiritual health. Justified: just as if I never sinned. He is the Just and the Justifier! “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”—Romans 3:26 (Holy Bible, KJV)
K – Kindle (Verb): to cause a fire to start burning by lighting paper, wood, etc. It only takes a spark. Be the spark. Light the fire.
L – Lambaste (Verb): to criticize someone or something severely If you are ever lambasted, you will know it.
M – Menagerie (Noun): a collection of wild animals that are kept privately or to show to the public. Aka, a middle school classroom.
N – Nebulus (Adjective): (especially of ideas) not clear and having no form. Sort of like this series of half-assed posts.
O – Opulent (Noun): expensive and luxurious. Fancy pants. One man’s normal is another man’s opulence. It is a matter of perspective, I suppose.
P – Pompous (Adjective): too serious and full of importance. Usually used before the noun, ass.
Q – Quibble (Verb): to argue about, or say you disapprove of, something that is not important. Quibbling is a favorite sport of married couples. I have been obsessed with the word since I heard the inimitable evangelist Vance Havner use it in the 1970s.
R – Resonant (Adjective): clear and loud, or causing sounds to be clear and loud. If you are going to say it, say it.
S – Scrumptious (Adjective): tasting extremely good. Donya’s chocolate pie.
T – Tremulous (Adjective): If a person’s voice or a part of their body is tremulous, it is shaking slightly. Like most people delivering a public speech or a kid while Mom reads his report card.
U – Undulate (Verb): to have a continuous up and down shape or movement, like waves on the sea. Get your mind out of the gutter!
V – Verbose (Noun): using or containing more words than are necessary If you wonder what that sounds like, join me on the next Teams call. You will understand.
W – Wanderlust (Noun): the wish to travel far away and to many different places. Guilty, your honor! Sentence me now.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
X – No good words start with X. Stay away from them and move on. People who use X words are just showing off. Shun them.
Y – Yoke (Noun): a wooden bar that is fastened over the necks of two animals, especially cattle, and connected to the vehicle or load that they are pulling. Jesus says His yoke is easy and His burden is light, so why do we disciples burden others with impossible expectations? The picture Jesus paints is that when a person is yoked to Him, he is the one carrying the load.
Z – Zealot (Noun): a person who has very strong opinions about something, and tries to make other people have them too. We usually slap this label on anyone enthusiastic about something we disdain. But our own enthusiams, of course, are more reasonable.
I am a word zealot. I will try my dead-level best to proselytize. But that is a word for another time.
Until we ponder together again…
Godspeed!
Geno
All definitions are taken from the Cambridge Dictionary.
