Wednesday Wordslinging

Hello fellow wordslingers.  If we were soldiers then our weapons would obviously be words.  English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton said it best when he coined the phrase "The pen is mightier than the sword."

Now, there are some authors, like King, Koontz, or Anne Rice, that own a level of vocabulary that makes me feel illiterate.  Not that big, flashy words make a great story, but if you don't have control of your words then how can you convey your message to your readers?

There is nothing wrong with a light vocabulary--at least that's what I keep telling myself--but there is also nothing wrong with trying to better yourself.

So, with that in mind, when I'm reading and I run across a word that I either have never heard before, or am familiar with but not quite sure of the exact definition, I write it down and look it up.  I've collected a good sized list.  Here are a few of my words:

ob·strep·er·ous

adj \əb-ˈstre-p(ə-)rəs, äb-\

1: marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness : clamorous <obstreperous merriment>

2: stubbornly resistant to control : unruly

— ob·strep·er·ous·ly adverb

— ob·strep·er·ous·ness noun

 

ra·con·teur

noun \ˌra-ˌkän-ˈtər, -kən-\

: a person who excels in telling anecdotes 

re·splen·dent

adj \-dənt\

: shining brilliantly : characterized by a glowing splendor <meadows resplendent with wildflowers — Outdoor World>

— re·splen·dent·ly adverb

 

Byz·an·tine

adj
\ˈbi-z^ən-ˌtēn, ˈbī-, -ˌtīn; bə-ˈzan-ˌ, bī-ˈ\

1: of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city of Byzantium

2: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire especially in the fifth and sixth centuries featuring the dome carried on pendentives over a square and incrustation with marble veneering and with colored mosaics on grounds of gold

3: of or relating to the churches using a traditional Greek rite and subject to Eastern canon law

4: often not capitalized a : of, relating to, or characterized by a devious and usually surreptitious manner of operation <a Byzantine power struggle> b : intricately involved : labyrinthine <rules of Byzantine complexity>

 

ephem·er·al

adj
\i-ˈfem-rəl, -ˈfēm-; -ˈfe-mə-, -ˈfē-\

1: lasting one day only <an ephemeral fever>

2: lasting a very short time <ephemeral pleasures>

— ephem·er·al·ly \-rə-lē\ adverb

Noun : something that lasts for a very short time : something ephemeral; specifically : a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days

These may be words that you already knew or maybe not.  Go forth, write and choose your words wisely.