Warrior Words
of the Week
Come each Monday to learn a new
word or phrase to add to your army.
word or phrase to add to your army.
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I don't know too many people who aren't thalassophiles, but among those who aren't, there might be thalassophobes. A thalassophile (thuh-lass-uh-file) is someone who loves the sea and ocean. I am one of them. I particularly love to lie on the beach in the dark and listen to the powerful waves roar and hit the sand. -phile at the end of a word generally means 'lover of.'  A large group of thalassophiles in their natural habitat. A thalassophobe (thuh-lass-uh-fobe) is someone who fears the sea and ocean. I am definitely not one of those! Also, -phobe at the end of a word generally means 'one who is afraid of.' Like in phobia or fear of something. A claustrophobe is afraid of small places, which I am.  A very unlikely thalassophobe!
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In the United States right now, there is a great schism (skiz-um), mainly in the area of politics. It is a schism between the Republicans, the Democrats, and the people who don't support either party. It is a 3-way schism. So, what is a schism? It is a split or division between groups of people, generally with respect to government, religion, or cultural ideas. The Protestant churches were born from a schism in the Catholic church. The Independent Party was realized from a schism in the Democratic and Republican parties. Though a schism can be unsettling, it generally results in new ideas and change for the better.   Brachiate is a fun word that can be a noun or a related verb. Even more fun, it is pronounced two different ways; one for the noun and a different pronunciation for the verb. The verb, brachiate (bray-key-ate) is what monkeys do in trees or you might do on the monkey bars at school. When you swing with alternating arms grabbing limbs or bars, you are brachiating. When you see a tree with limbs on opposite sides of one another, those limbs are brachiate (bray-key-at). No go forth and brachiate on a tree with brachiate limbs, or better yet, a set of monkey bars!  Believe it or not, fatuous (fat-chew-us) has nothing to do with body size or weight. It has everything to do with silliness and absurdity. Have you ever told anyone, "If you die, I'll kill you!?" Kind of a pointless thing to say if they are already dead, right? That would be a fatuous statement. Fatuous can describe words, people, actions, concepts, thoughts, and much more. While it might seem that all things fatuous are also useless, I can defend the word wholeheartedly when it comes to comedy. Some of the things that make us laugh the hardest are considered fatuous by some. A pie in the face serves no purpose but to make us giggle. Physical comedy, also known as slapstick, is often fatuous and effective. So I try to keep my thoughts from being fatuous, but often speak in a fatuous manner for a laugh. A fun side note: the word infatuated comes from the word fatuous. It means a love that is superficial, a crush, a desire to be in love, but without the substance and backbone to make the commitment to a real relationship.  |
AuthorI am Becky Lyn Rickman. I am a writer because I love words almost as much as I love the people in my life. I want to fill the world with magnificent words and then jump in and splash around in them. I live with Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, my cats, but the only words they really love are "meat" and "gravy." Archives
March 2018
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