Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Wondrous Words Wednesday - Mar 9, 2016


It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time to learn some new words! Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy at Bermuda Onion, is a meme which encourages us to share words we have learned while reading. The words I share will sometimes be completely new to me, and other times they will be words I am familiar with, and maybe even use correctly, but when I think about how to explain the meaning, I’m lost — I have to look it up. It’s all about expanding my vocabulary!

These words are from The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.

demijohn - a bulbous, narrow-necked bottle holding from 3 to 10 gallons of liquid, typically enclosed in a wicker cover
“I scrubbed the floors with lime soap from the demijohn.”

manumission - document for release from slavery
“Father had torn up my manumission paper.”

sedition - conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch
“I will not tolerate sedition in this family!”  

perdition - a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death
“My stammer had been in hibernation for almost a year, but last winter it had showed up on the eve of my coming out and remained throughout my first season, turning it into a perdition.”

And this last one I’m including, not because I didn’t understand the meaning, but because it is just so much fun to say!

splendiferous - extraordinarily or showily imperssive
“Whenever I could steal away from the parlor, Hiram and I galloped at splendiferous speeds into a landscape erupting with the same intractable wildness I felt inside.”


What new-to-you words have you discovered this week?

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5 comments:

  1. I agree - splendiferous is great fun and I'm gonna use it on my kids today. ;)

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  2. Knew three today,good words.

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  3. I listened to that book so wasn't able to jot words down as I listened. I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I did.

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    1. I liked it a lot! Our book club will be discussing it this week, so it will be interesting to see what others think of it.

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  4. Manumission is new to me. I have not yet read The Invention of Wings but it's coming up for book club. Now I'll know.

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