A few years ago a friend signed me up for Wordsmith.org’s A Word a Day. Every morning Wordsmith emails a new word, with its definition, usage, and etymology.
Often the words are simply fun. Sometimes they intrigue a thriller writer. From July 23:
minatory (MIN-uh-tor-ee, MYN-) adjective
Threatening or menacing.
[From Latin minari (to threaten), from minae (threats). Ultimately from
the Indo-European root men- (project) that is also the source of menace,
mountain, eminent, promenade, demean, amenable, and mouth.]
And then there’s today’s word:
cacography (kuh-KOG-ruh-fee) noun
1. Bad handwriting.
2. Incorrect spelling.
[From caco- (bad), from Greek kakos (bad) + -graphy (writing). Caco is
ultimately from the Indo-European root kakka-/kaka- (to defecate) which
also gave us poppycock, cacophony, and cucking stool… Opposites of today’s word are calligraphy (beautiful handwriting) and orthography (correct spelling).
The origins of the word are enough to provoke me to improve my handwriting.
Fascinating words, Meg. In my younger days, I used to surf my Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, especially for the etymologies. I’ve become too staid as I approach 50, and I’m looking for new ways to reawaken my curiosity about the world, around me. I think the A Word A Day newsletter will help, so thanks.
So, in the next novel, shall I look for something like, “Jo was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, by the minatory cacography of the deceased’s recent entries on a popular novelist’s blog!”? (Don’t know about the use of punctuation at the end of the previous sentence – seems cacographic to me.)
How ’bout, “The minatorious minion caromed down the causeway, leaving cacographic collections of misspelled messages carelessly clumped upon the meandering main street mall.”?
But thanks for the tip to the wordsmith.org site and the A Word a Day newsletter. I think I will add that to The Writer’s Almanac (writersalmanac.publicradio.org) as a daily newsletter subscription. And, perhaps it’s time to discontinue my subscription to Procrastinator’s Always Late and Often Completely Overlooked newsletter. When I get around to it, that is.
@ Ron: I’ve wanted to procrastinate for years, but I keep putting it off!
How about coprophagy, the eating of feces, from a article on Guinea pigs?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=44381
Seriously, I did not need to know that.