Reading the Merriam Webster Dictionary Backwards
September 19, 2014 Friday
blog address: Readingthedictionarybackwards.blogspot.com
email: ishmaelish36@blogspot.com
You can find my other blog of pediatric anecdotes, poetry, artwork and literature at ishmaelish36.blogspot.com
west: [Latin vesper evening, evening star]
the direction of the sunset
Although the word 'west' doesn't seem that unique or interesting, it is romantic in its definition: the direction of the setting sun. My main reason to mention it here is that now I see the relationship to one of my favorite two words (in the "V's" and the "C's"): vespertine and the synonym crepuscular: both meaning dusk. I didn't make the connection of vespertine to 'the west' (i.e. vesper). I also grew up in Westerly, Rhode Island. Little did I know that i was growing up in a poetic town…facing the setting sun.
window: [Old Norse vindr wind, auga eye]
(No need for a definition here...)
Similar to the prosaic word "west" this etymology strikes hidden gold for me. Very poetic and symbolic. It is not just an opening in a wall…it is a place to contemplate, to really see with your eyes, the wind outside your sheltering home. These Norse words are magical. It reminds me of the sweet joke, "How many poets does it take to change a lightbulb? Two…one to change the bulb, and one to stand by the window, gazing at the fading sunset."
whoops:
oops
window: [Old Norse vindr wind, auga eye]
(No need for a definition here...)
Similar to the prosaic word "west" this etymology strikes hidden gold for me. Very poetic and symbolic. It is not just an opening in a wall…it is a place to contemplate, to really see with your eyes, the wind outside your sheltering home. These Norse words are magical. It reminds me of the sweet joke, "How many poets does it take to change a lightbulb? Two…one to change the bulb, and one to stand by the window, gazing at the fading sunset."
whoops:
oops
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