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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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The Heights of "Whuddering"
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1
2011/07/24 - 9:16am
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My wife came across the word "whuddering" in a piece by M.F.K. Fisher. Looking how people have used it on the web, the most common meaning seems to be "soft and wavering" (in reference to sound) like the cooing of a dove or the notes of distant music carried on the wind. However, I've also found people using it to describe firelight, an odd sound made by a roller coaster, and the sound of wind in a storm.

Can anyone supply a dictionary definition and an origin?

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2
2011/07/25 - 9:17am
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See http://www.wordnik.com/words/whudder, which sends you to look at "whither".

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3
2011/07/26 - 11:52am
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Thank you for the link.

Strange that so uncommon a word -- it does not even pop up in the giant corpora that Grant gave listeners a link to at BYU -- should pop up at all. Should a writer use (or an editor allow) a very rare word like "whuddering" when a more common word would do?

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