Words Light Fires
….words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. — Patrick Rothfuss
Words. What would we do without them? They give us basic things, necessary things – like communication and understanding. But words can go beyond that, too. They can delve into realms of magic and mystery, places we didn’t know existed. Their cuts can make us bleed, their beauty can make us cry, their depth can make us hope …
Readers love them. Writers live by them.
In honor of the beauty of words, I’ve dug up a few that are not only beautiful, but which have wonderfully unique meanings. I dare you to read them without getting inspired.
selcouth: (adj.) unfamiliar, rare, strange and yet marvelous
hiraeth: (n.) a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home that may have never been; the yearning, nostalgia or grief for the lost places of your past
fika: (v.) drinking coffee along with eating something sweet
sillage: (n.) the scent that lingers in the air, the trail left in water, the impression made in space after something or someone has been and gone
sciamachy: (n.) a battle against imaginary enemies; fighting your shadow
aesthete: (n.) someone with deep sensitivity to the beauty of art or nature
psithurism: (n.) the sound of the wind through trees
feuillemort: (n.) the color of a dying leaf
whelve: (v.) to bury something deep; to hide
nelipot: (n.) one who walks barefoot
murr-ma: (v.) to walk along in the water, searching for something with your feet
cicurate: (v.) to tame or reclaim from wildness or madness
ailurophile: (n.) a cat-lover
elision: (v.) dropping a sound or syllable in a word
inglenook: (n.) a cozy nook by the hearth
moiety: (adj.) one of two equal parts
onomatopoeia: (n.) a word that sounds exactly like its meaning
palimpsest: (n.) a manuscript written over earlier ones
petrichor: (n.) the smell of earth after rain
If you could create a unique word, what would it be, and what would be its meaning?
