I am reading a book entitled "Reading the OED" by Ammon Shea. Its' about a man who took one year to read the Oxford English Dictionary. All 21,730 pages of it, "from a to zyzzogeton (a large South American leaf hopper)" For those who don't know, the OED is *the* dictionary. I saw a set one time - and was awed by the sheer volume of words and their etymology. But to read the entire set?
Wow. While I have always had a love of words, and attempted at various times in my life to read a dictionary or even encyclopedia, I never got all the way to the end. But Ammon Shea did. And the OED is not some little novel you can hold in your hand. It is 20 large volumes. I am envious (and I'm certain there is a better word, but this one works for me!) but not so much that I would undertake such an onerous endeavor.
But it is fun reading the new words - most of which are actually old words no longer in use. And if you are any kind of wordsmith, or you just enjoy words, take a look at this book. It could turn you into a vocabularian. Or not.
Today's challenge: Use the word artolater (a worshipper of bread) in a scene
1 comment:
With all the interesting, exciting books to read out there, I can't imagine spending the hours needed to read a dictionary.
I do like words and have a journal I keep of words I really like and intend to use someday in scenes. I'll had your latest suggestion.
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