Beautiful Words

[Wayne Gray]

This thread is devoted to underused words.  I really want to see someone else use Petrichor in a story!  Go ahead, share your own favorite gems.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor

 

EDIT: The list thus far ...

 

Petrichor - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/petrichor

Vellichor - http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/57250260260/vellichor

Biblichor - https://lawhimsy.com/2017/09/13/word-nerd-biblichor/

Juxtaposed - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtaposed

Limerence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence

Nefarious - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nefarious

Lamentable - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamentable

Defenestration - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defenestration

Quintessence - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintessence

Petulant - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petulant

Edited February 26, 2019 by Wayne Gray
Compiling the Awesome

[Mikiesboy]

I used petrichor here:

 

https://gayauthors.org/story/mikiesboy/dessert/1

 

[Wayne Gray]

13 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

I used petrichor here:

 

https://gayauthors.org/story/mikiesboy/dessert/1

 

That’s awesome!  😊

[Reader1810]

I’m not an author, but after coming across this word (okay, so I look up a lot of things I come across in my readings) I just have to share it even if what we read here are electronic words.

 

Quote

Vellichor (n.) is the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you'll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden ...

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by Reader1810

[Wayne Gray]

Another one I love.

 

http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/23536922667/sonder

[MacGreg]

Your petrichor made me think of biblichor, from the Greek word, Biblos, meaning book and the Ichor, meaning "the fluid that flows in the veins of Gods". The musty, comforting fragrance of old books.

 

 

[Wayne Gray]

1 minute ago, MacGreg said:

Your petrichor made me think of biblichor, from the Greek word, Biblos, meaning book and the Ichor, meaning "the fluid that flows in the veins of Gods". The musty, comforting fragrance of old books.

 

 

Okay, this is kinda awesome.  It obliquely kisses both Petrichor and Vellichor.  Not sure if that was intentional, but it's cool regardless.

[MacGreg]

2 minutes ago, Wayne Gray said:

Okay, this is kinda awesome.  It obliquely kisses both Petrichor and Vellichor.  Not sure if that was intentional, but it's cool regardless.

A natural connection between beautiful words and written words.

[Marty]

Cool words, yes. Not sure whether I would deliberately use any of them in a story, though, unless they were used in dialogue. They seem just a bit too obscure, and I would worry that I would interrupt the flow in the reader's mind whilst reading. I know this happens to me sometimes when I am reading and have to look up a strange word....

 

Now, if I were writing a poem it may be a different story...

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by Marty
Tidying up

[Wayne Gray]

11 minutes ago, Marty said:

Cool words, yes. Not sure whether I would deliberately use any of them in a story, though, unless they were used in dialogue. They seem just a bit too obscure, and I would worry that I would interrupt the flow in the reader's mind whilst reading. I know this happens to me sometimes when I am reading and have to look up a strange word....

 

Now, if I were writing a poem it may be a different story...

 

That's a great point.  Yet, I've had some fun experiences with readers in that regard.  I stuck "petrichor" into one story, and I had several readers respond that they were happy to learn what that smell was called.  Until they saw the word for it, describing the scent was a clunky enterprise.  If anything deserves elegance, it's petrichor.

 

Can you tell that I love the rain?  It's probably not obvious.

Edited February 24, 2019 by Wayne Gray

[Marty]

1 minute ago, Wayne Gray said:

Can you tell that I love the rain?  It's probably not obvious.

 

Correct! It wasn't obvious.  

 

I assumed, because of the -ichor ending(s), you might just like the smell of certain things. 

[Former Member]

A few weeks ago I read about a Japanese word that refers to the desire to use the restroom in a bookstore. Defining something and giving it a name gives it more power. Sometimes that’s a negative though, with school shootings, going ‘postal,’ and workplace shooting taking on so much meaning that they inspire copycats who never would have considered committing that act.

[Reader1810]

20 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

A few weeks ago I read about a Japanese word that refers to the desire to use the restroom in a bookstore. Defining something and giving it a name gives it more power. Sometimes that’s a negative though, with school shootings, going ‘postal,’ and workplace shooting taking on so much meaning that they inspire copycats who never would have considered committing that act.

So natch, I just had to google that (so susceptible to dangling carrots I am - good thing I’m not a cat  ) and what I found was quite interesting...

[Thorn Wilde]

I love the word petrichor. I learned it from a Doctor Who episode, lol! It was written by Neil Gaiman. I doubt anyone else could have managed to fit that word into a family sci-fi show...

 

I'm fond of 'juxtaposed'. It's not so much the meaning of it, but it just rolls off the tongue so wonderfully, I find.

[Mikiesboy]

4 hours ago, Marty said:

 

Correct! It wasn't obvious.  

 

I assumed, because of the -ichor ending(s), you might just like the smell of certain things. 

ichor is actually a watery discharge  or more, what flows in the veins of Gods ...  Or in a story i wrote the name of a planet, Ichor3  aka New Australia

[Former Member]

11 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

Or in a story i wrote the name of a planet, Ichor3  aka New Australia

Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh. About Ichor3. Is that on the list to follow Changes, Again?  ;–)

[Parker Owens]

Well, I’ve learned a couple of new words today. Thank you! 

[Mikiesboy]

1 minute ago, droughtquake said:

Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh. About Ichor3. Is that on the list to follow Changes, Again?  ;–)

no it's in the story Foreign Soil

[Former Member]

4 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

no it's in the story Foreign Soil

So no sequel to tell us how the two guys survive on the prison planet?

[Mikiesboy]

22 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

So no sequel to tell us how the two guys survive on the prison planet?

maybe now ... this isn't our thread though..

[Wayne Gray]

17 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

maybe now ... this isn't our thread though..

I keep bringing up instant pots and food in yours.  Do what you will. 

[Carlos Hazday]

1 hour ago, Thorn Wilde said:

I love the word petrichor. I learned it from a Doctor Who episode, lol! It was written by Neil Gaiman. I doubt anyone else could have managed to fit that word into a family sci-fi show...

 

I'm fond of 'juxtaposed'. It's not so much the meaning of it, but it just rolls off the tongue so wonderfully, I find.

 

Not SciFi, but I've used petrichor. And vellichor. Different books, same character and series.

[Mikiesboy]

6 minutes ago, Wayne Gray said:

I keep bringing up instant pots and food in yours.  Do what you will. 

LOL.. noooo

[Carlos Hazday]

My favorite word used in one of my stories is LIMERENCE. My editor warned me it could piss some readers off because they would have to look it up, but I actually received a couple of compliments on it.

[Wayne Gray]

1 minute ago, Carlos Hazday said:

My favorite word used in one of my stories is LIMERENCE. My editor warned me it could piss some readers off because they would have to look it up, but I actually received a couple of compliments on it.

I had to look it up.  Worth the time.  It's a great word, particularly for a romance writer!