When you’re reading The New York Times and stumble upon a word you don’t know, you can highlight it and the Times will give you the definition. Naturally, the Times keeps track of the definitions it provides. So what are the most commonly looked up words?
- sui generis
- solipsistic
- louche
- laconic
- saturnine
pona
INVENTED LANGUAGE: Sonja Elen Kisa’s Toki Pona (2001)
Toki pona is a “minimal language that focuses on the good things in life.” It has only 118 words, so words are used in multiple ways. Pona can be a verb (“improve,” “fix,” “repair,” “make good”), an adjective (“good,” “simple,” “positive,” “nice,” “correct,” “right”), a noun (“goodness,” “simplicity,” “positivity”), or an interjection (“great!”, “cool!” “yay!”). Pona!
kottke also linked to a site which has a list of the 100 most beautiful words in English. Some of the words that I like are Talisman, Serendipity, Mondegreen and Ephemeral. What are your favourites from the list? We also have an ‘Ailurophile’ in our office!
Image Source: * Cati Kaoe *