A Vermont listener named Amy is looking for a word to denote a particular kind of light. She has an eye condition that makes her photophobic, which means that ordinary light makes her physically uncomfortable. She wants a word that describes that specific level of illumination where color just begins to be detectable. None of the following quite gets at what she’s looking for: alpenglow, dim, gloaming, pre-dawn light, subdued light, starlight, or crepuscular. There’s the word antelucan, an archaic word that describes conditions just before dawn, from Latin words meaning exactly that. Martha makes up the word chromagogic based on Greek roots that would mean “leading to color,” just as hypnagogic refers to the period leading up to sleep. But Grant may have the best and most specific suggestion of all: amylight. Do you have a better one? This is part of a complete episode.
A Winter Dictionary (Bookshop|Amazon) by Paul Anthony Jones includes some words to lift your spirits. The verb whicken involves the lengthening of days in springtime, a variant of quicken, meaning “come to life.” Another word, breard, is...
Rosalind from Montgomery, Alabama, says her mother used to scold her for acting like a starnadle fool. The more common version of this term is starnated fool, a term that appears particular to Black English, and appears in the work of such writers...
Subscribe to the fantastic A Way with Words newsletter!
Martha and Grant send occasional messages with language headlines, event announcements, linguistic tidbits, and episode reminders. It’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s happening with the show.
