Teach me a Word!

In every poem I write, every word I read, and every mind that is better, smarter, quicker than my own, I desire to know vast swaths of vocabulary. Said another way: words inspire me to learn more words.

I read new words all the time, but my memory consistently fails me. What I need is a list I can read over and over, to cement these words in my brain. A localized area for new words to appear is even more convenient, a jumping off point for this list.

The thing is… I don’t want to read a dictionary. I’m very tempted and perhaps I will do this too. However, I could just ask all of you for input. So...

Hi!

I have a request for you. (Yes you, you person with eyes reading this right now.) Teach me a new word, if you please. 🙃

Wait—New?

Well…Meh; this is wiggly for me. I'd love to learn a new word, but like I said, I could just read a dictionary. So, it's wiggly.

Let me explain.

The newness of the word is secondary, perhaps even tertiary. If it's new to you great—I'd just like to know why you chose it. If it's new to me—yay! But you can't, of course, pick based off of what words I may or may not know.

Which means that, realistically, common words work. Let me read it with new eyes, though. Give it more life, paint it brighter, sing it with different emphasis.

Alternatively...

Pick a prompt, if you prefer.

1. If you could pass on only one lesson to a person you’ve never met face to face, and it had to be a single word, what would you choose?
2. If you had to save someone’s life and you could only speak one word, what would it be?
3. If your nemesis knew one word more than you did, what word could you pick that would stun their knowledge, and make you the victor in having the best lexicon?
4. Do you know any words that are metaphors all on their own?
5. Is there a word that you both love AND hate?
6. What’s a word that confuses you, utterly and completely?
7. Do you speak another language? What’s a word in that language that doesn’t translate into English?
8. What word blew your mind — be it through spelling, definition, shape on the page, etc.— when you learned it?

I don’t want a random word from a Google search of "cool," or "uncommon" words. Or anything like that. Pitch your word to me; let me see what you see in it.

***

I have this thing where I associate colors or shapes or memories with letters, numbers, words, sentences, etc. Recently, I've been wondering about how often I choose words for a poem or story based on how my visualization fits the theme of whatever I'm working on. I’m coming to realize that it happens a lot. It’s very visual, but, as you can see, not exactly in the cinematic sense...

For me, 'M' is purple; the number '8' is maroon; 'fiction' is dark blue, like the ocean under a clear, crescent moon; and 'I love you' is a mix of light blue, yellow, light pinkish-red. Literally every word carries something like this in my mind's eye.

If I'm weird, that's cool. But how does your brain interact with language? I want to know if you have words that stand out in your life in some way. I simultaneously want to learn a new word, one that means something to you, and understand why it means that.

Teach me a word!