This month, my book club is reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, an intriguing story about a teen, Jenna, who is trying to solve the ten year old mystery of her mother’s disappearance. One night, at the elephant sanctuary owned and operated by Jenna’s parents, a woman was found dead, potentially trampled.  That same night, Jenna’s mom, Alice, was found unconscious.  Alice received treatment at a nearby hospital and then disappeared.  Jenna is convinced she’s still alive and recruits a psychic and a retired detective to find her.

Jenna’s mom is one of the alternating POVs in Leaving Time, and she shares much scientific info about elephants. Her notes are easy to read and relate to, as she is studying how elephants grieve. So far I’ve only come across one new word: allomother.

Although there are records of adoption within herds, the majority of allomothers will not nurse an orphaned calf; there is just not enough milk to go around without compromising their own biological offspring.

If you like learning about new words, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, where bloggers share new words they’ve come across in their reading.

Allomother \ˈa-lə-ˌmə-thər\ noun from Greek allos other; allo- being one of a group whose members together constitute a structural unit + mother;

• an individual other than the biological mother of an offspring that performs the functions of a mother (as by caring for an infant temporarily). This phenomenon occurs among animals as well as humans (as when a grandmother takes over the care of a child when the child’s mother cannot do the job).

Interestingly, this word was first used in 1980. I wonder if changes in our society over the past several decades and the concurrent changes in the structure of the “typical” American family have brought about an increased number of “allomothers”.  Or perhaps the phenomenon has existed for centuries, and we’ve just recently given it a name.

Word Nerd Workout

What scientific terms have you come across in your reading lately?

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!

It’s really cool when you’ve been blogging about words long enough that your children suggest Word Nerd Words to feature.  How’s that for validation? 🙂

My son found an interesting story behind the word “jumbo” in the short story collection Guys Read: True Stories.  If you, like my son, enjoying learning about words, join the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, where bloggers share new words they’ve discovered while reading.

I’m sure you’ve heard of “jumbo” before, but do you know where it comes from?  Is there a Latin root to explain jumbo?  Nope.

Jumbo, noun, a very large specimen of its kind; or adjective, very large

Origin:  Jumbo was the name of a huge elephant exhibited by P.T. Barnum in his circus.  First known use 1883.   (Merriam-Webster)

This shouldn’t be confused with mumbo jumbo, meaningless or superstitious words or activity.  This term comes from Mumbo Jumbo, a masked figure among Mandingo peoples of western Africa.

Who says you don’t learn anything reading fiction?

Word Nerd Note:  My son enjoyed the Guys Read collections.  If you need book suggestions for a guy in your life (of any age), check out the Guys Read website.  It’s run by a community of dudes who believe that guys will read when given books that interest them.  The site has tons of information, including great reviews and book lists like “Classics that Actually Hold Up” and “People Being Transformed into Animals.”  See my full, adoring post on Guys Read here.

Word Nerd Workout

Since it’s standardized testing season, let’s try an analogy.  No need for the kids to have all the fun. 😉

taciturn: laconic :: jumbo : _____________

See how I worked in some vocab review?  Thanks for “playing” with me.