In the Bookcase

12/14/2011

Taking a look at these words...

Time to reveal the answers to those intriguing words from my Dictionary Dash post. Let's begin...



Milquetoast \MILK-toste\
A timid, meek, or unassertive person. (noun)

Milquetoast is a little comical (for me) because it sounds like the words "milk toast"---somehow it sounds about right for a "timid, meek, or unassertive person"---"a milk toast kind of person". I learned from Jenny's comment that there are actually other spellings of the word.

"Don't be a milquetoast," said the young boy to his friend, "the water's not too cold. Come jump in the lake!"



Ferly \FAIR-lee\
Unexpected; strange; unusual. (adj)

A Scottish word from the thirteenth century!

Wee hoverin’, fleein’ ferlie fello’.
(first line of "Ode Tae a Bumble Bee" by Stuart McLean)




Otiose \OH-she-ose\
Producing no useful result; lacking use or effect. (adj)

An dull pencil is an otiose object.



Druthers \DRUHTH-erz\
One's own way, choice, or preference. (noun)

After I learned how this word was formed, it really stuck in my mind better. Druthers is actually a variation of the words "would rather". A person's druthers are the things they would rather do. It came about as a word sometime around 1870.

If I had my druthers, I would curl up with a book tonight.



Concatenate \con-CAT-eh-net\
Linked together. (adj) ... To link together in a series or chain. (verb)

The electrical wiring must be concatenated before the machine will work.



Have you found any new, interesting words lately?


3 comments:

  1. I love those words! Where do you find them?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I especially love Ferly and Druthers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I especially love Ferly and Druthers!

    ReplyDelete