I love to learn new words — I used to keep a written list of new words years ago, but lately I’ve realized that the words I don’t know aren’t really useful. I have plenty already, and it gets old having to define obscure words to my readers.
While I was living with my folks this winter my father recommended the Word Of The Day site to me. The URL is:
The May 9th e-mail featured a word I’ve never encountered: anomia.
The Dictionary Demon,once roused from his slumbers, brought me back this definition after a short foray over the Sea of Words:
anomia PRONUNCIATION: (uh-NOH-mee-uh) MEANING: noun: The inability to recall names of people or objects. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin a- (without) + nom (name). Earliest documented use: 1900. Don't confuse the word with anomie. USAGE: "In Dad's case of anomia, he's been calling his nightly can of beer 'ink'. Sometimes he calls it 'gas', which makes a kind of sense." Patricia Traxler; I'm Still Listening for My Father's Words; Newsweek (New York); Jun 11, 2007.
I have a terrible time with people’s names. Typically it takes me three times to really absorb someone’s name.
A useful site for a literary type like me! I may not use the obscure words, but it’s nice learning them!
Larry
word of the day is even more obscure since the link didn’t work. (grin)
I got the link fixed, Joan. Thanks for letting me know of the flaw!
Thanks for fixing it, Larry. It was fun reading it and a relief on this particular post to learn that other people have a problem with remembering names. I didn’t know there was a real name for it. I always say I’m proper name dyslexic. This is particularly galling when I’m reading a novel . If I put the book down for a couple of days I suddenly will draw a blank remembering if Paula is the heroine or the villain. A true test of my declining sanity is experienced when trying to get through a Russian novel. I particularly recall “Crime and Punishment” where, in any given paragraph, the same person is referred to by his first name, his last name, and even more annoying the tacking of ‘-ovich’ (sp.?) on the end of a name.. I think it means ‘son of’… whose ever name precedes it. But I never rembered which son of an ovich it referred to. But enough gritching for today. . I will enjoy the ‘word of the day’, and won’t have to wake the oft times grumpy Dictionary Demon, for clues. 🙂