My mom and my grandma tell this story of my great-grandmother 'Granny' who, due to circumstances beyond her control, only finished the third grade. But she never quenched her thirst for knowledge. In fact, she would sit and read each night - with a dictionary by her side so that she could always be learning new things. Although she passed away when I was 10 - and I never knew her so well in person as I've come to by (not so) secretely hoarding stories of my family's history - I was and am profoundly awed, inspired, and influenced by this story.
My favorite book is my OED (specifically the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, third edition). It's well worn - and not half as fancy as the one Ione Sky immortalized in Say Anything - but I love it. I really like to go through it at random and look up words that are sure to have an "origin". Well, all words do - but origin in the sense that the dictionary tells you the root or etymology (from the Greek) of a word. So today at lunch - I've been reading Paradise Lost at lunch (sigh. I know...) and I keep my OED handy.
Anyhow, I was reminded of a word I absolutely love today. Not because I use it overmuch, mind - but because the origin is literally so cool.
Ahem. genial /jee-ni-uhl/ adj. Friendly and cheerful. ORIGIN Latin genialis 'productive'.
...I'm just saying.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
great word.
and your grandma's story... so sweet.
Post a Comment