Wordy Wednesday

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday, where we learn and love together. Today you are in for a special treat with our word selection. Not only is there a fantastic dinosaur tie-in, but we delve into the Greek dictionary as we explore origins! As we all know, the Greek make everything more fun. If only I had some horrifying mythology to share with you. Sadly, I don't.

The word: Brontide

Definition: A low muffled rumbling, similar to distant thunder, and is often heard along coastlines and over lakes. Some think the noise to be caused by earth tremors.

Enter, the Greeks. The root of the word is in fact of Greek origin, bronte meaning 'thunder' and the suffix 'id' which translates to 'offspring of'. Therefore, brontide means thunders offspring, or a sort of kin to the grumbling we hear before lightning strikes. Interestingly enough, brontosaurus shares the the same root. Exploring this a little more, the meaning of 'saurus' is lizard. Now put it together and what do you have? Bibbidi bobbidi boo!

If you nothing else, you've learned the proper term for one of the most popular dinosaurs. Thunder Lizard.

You're welcome.

Wordy Wednesday

I look forward to these days. The days where we can learn together or, at the very least, revel in our shared nerdiness. In fact, the other day I decided to start a board on Pinterest dedicated to words I love. There are only two pins on it, but I promise to be diligent about keeping up with the learning and sharing. Isn't that what life is about anyhow? Learning and sharing.

The word: Abominable

Here's an interesting tidbit of information, I actually noticed the wonderful way in which the word 'abominable' rolls off the tongue while reading up on the Abominable Snowman, otherwise known as the Yeti. The Abominable Snowman is an apish creature taller than humans and is thought to inhabit the mountainous regions of Nepal and Tibet. Our scientific community regards the Yeti as legend, giving the lack of evidence, but it remains the most popular subject of cryptozoology (which is the pseudoscience involving searching for animals that have not been proven to exist, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.) Cryptozoologists call the Abominable Snowman a cryptid, which is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but not proven or documented by science. So, basically, the stuff legends and myths are made of. 

Cryptozoology is another interesting word, coming from the Greek word 'kryptos - meaning hidden - and zoology which literally means the study of hidden animals. 

Let's circle back to abominable. An English word which came from the Latin word 'abominabilis'. It was once believed abominable meant inhuman or beastly and was actually spelled 'abhominable' until the late 17th century. Today we use it to describe loathsome behaviour or anything detestable. The example the online dictionary gave was 'an abominable cup of tea', which actually gave me a laugh. In my humble opinion, unless the tea was made from urine the word abominable seems a bit strong to describe a cuppa.

This week you are to use the word 'abominable' causally in a sentence and see if anyone remarks on it.

Proof the Abominable Snowman exists? 

Or just weird impression in the snow. 

You decide.