Source: Merriam Webster “Word of the Year 2022”
In this age of misinformation—of “fake news,” conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls,and deepfakes—gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time. A driver of disorientation and mistrust, gaslighting is “the act or practice of grossly misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage.” 2022 saw a 1740% increase in lookups for gaslighting, with high interest throughout the year. Continue reading
Words are fascinating. Etymology of words even more so. English has a pretty large “working vocabulary” with lots of synonyms, but I think in general each synonym conveys a slightly nuanced meaning. There is often just the right word needed somewhere in the pile of synonyms. Continue reading
From the good people at Merriam-Webster, a short read on the word “jack” and they way we use the word in the English language. Enjoy
One of my daily emails comes from the good people at Merriam-Webster and their “Word of the Day.” The definitions are good, but it is the etymology of the words that I find fascinating. Who knew “desultory” was connected to the circus.
“The Latin adjective desultorius, the parent of desultory, was used by the ancients to refer to a circus performer (called a desultor) whose trick was to leap from horse to horse without stopping. It makes sense, therefore, that someone or something desultory “jumps” from one thing to another. (Desultor and desultorius, by the way, are derived from the Latin verb salire, which means “to leap.”) A desultory conversation leaps from one topic to another and doesn’t have a distinct point or direction. A desultory student skips from one subject to another without applying serious effort to any one. A desultory comment is a digressive one that jumps away from the topic at hand. And a desultory performance is one resulting from an implied lack of steady, focused effort.” [Merriam Webster]
Just a little something interesting on a Friday afternoon after Christmas.
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