Words are like a living creature, capable of developing, moving, spreading, and influencing the world in many ways, directly and indirectly through others. They have power, energy, and influences. They create peace and inspiration in our lives. They can encourage or discourage, slander or uplift, so we need to use them wisely. We need to keep them as pets in the home of our mind. We need to love them and know the every detail of their gist and nuance.
As I think about the power of the word to enflame and divide, to calm and connect, or to make and effect change, I’m ever more careful about what I say and how I listen to the words around me.
As a writer, I see the impact of words I choose on the world around me and my own favouritisms, predispositions, and discriminating consideration of the words I hear.
Lately, I have found the word ‘accubation.’ It is the practice of eating or drinking while lying down. I love eating bread while lying especially in the morning after waking up, so I think I can express myself with the word. I don’t know why I’m getting lazy these days. I love eating while lying down. Possibly, because of my chikungunya. Do I have? Hahaha
When I’m not satisfied with my new haircut I cut my hair after I get home. Because of this, I can be considered as an autotonsorialist, a person who cuts his own hair. Such a pretty word, right? Being a wordie, I think it is. I’ve heard some haircutters are autotonsorialists.
In Manila when I was all of six, our neighbour gave us frog. I wanted to eat it, but my grandmother stopped me. Now I wonder how frog tastes. I’ve learned that our neighbour is an Ilocano, and most Ilocanos are batrachophagous. They really love eating frog.
A person has cagamosis if she has an unhappy marriage. So if she divorces him and gets married to another person, that marriage is called digamy. If her spouse dies, and she gets married again, such marriage is also called digamy.
If teachers hit their students, they can be sued these days. Hitting students is called dippoldism. Psychologically, it isn’t good for children. Traditional teaching methods sometimes only succeeded in putting students off learning. It can traumatise children. Teachers who did it must have gone insane.
One who fakes a smile, as on television is called eccedentesiast. Most Kapuso stars are good at this. Dennis Trillo has a very good skill in it. Carla Abellana, too. I think soaps need more eccedentesiasts for the sake of the audience, who are getting more fastidious about good acting. Our friends or colleagues who tend to be reluctant when it comes to displaying genuine emotion are also called eccedentesiasts.
We call the state of being stuffed with food (overeating) as farctate. I hate it because I don’t feel good when I’m too full, especially when I'm stuffed to the gills. It is an unhealthy habit I need to avoid. Fiestas, parties, holidays are the perfect season for farctate dinners and whatnot.
An act of being likely to make a mistake is called hamartithia. This is common when we are new to something. It is sometimes inevitable, but we need it to learn, to be the best. Last May, most of our elected senators are political neophytes and they will likely to make a hamartithia.
One who sticks obstinately and wrongly to his old ways is called mumpsimus. But I think mumpsimuses are no longer common these days. Most friends I have are stylish. I got it from Henry VIII: 'I see and hear daily that you of the Clergy preach one against another, teach one contrary to another, inveigh one against another without charity or discretion. Some be too stiff in their old mumpsimus, others be too busy and curious in their new sumpsimus. Thus all men almost be in variety and discord.'
A nelipot is someone who walks without shoes. When I was young, I tried to be a nelipot. It was not easy. I needed feet that had hardened to endure stones on the road. In the Bible, most people were a nelipot, especially Jesus. Walking barefoot strengthens and stretches the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your feet, ankles and calves.
Who do you see first after leaving your house? That person you see first is a qualtagh. Of course, my mum is the first person I see when I leave home. She is there to remind me to pray. She is my qualtagh for my spiritual life. It is pronounced, by the way, as [kwol-tog]. It is from a form of Gaelic known as Manx. It is spoken on the Isle of Man, and though it has nearly vanished in spoken usage, it is a well-documented word and there is an effort to revive its usage. Literally the word ‘qualtagh’ means ‘first foot,’ as in the first person to set foot in the house on New Year’s Day, or the first person one met when they set foot outside on New Year’s Day. It may also be used to refer to the first person a woman encounters after being confined to her house following the birth of a child.
Have you tried xerophagy? It is a diet of bread and water. Last night I tried it. I bought some pandesal from Pan de Manila. I love their pandesal because it is so soft and a bit sweet. I got so hungry the whole night I needed to wake up early to eat my breakfast though I usually don’t eat breakfast. In the early Christian Church, xerophagy meant eating food cooked in water and salt during Lent. Xerophagy has also been practised in prison and in the military as a form of punishment.
I hope you’ve liked the words I’ve picked for you.
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