Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday! Do you ever come across words that you think you should know but don’t? Wondrous words is the meme for you. Visit meme hostess Kathy at Bermuda Onion to find links to tons of interesting vocabulary.
My entry this week comes from the T.V. show Sherlock. My husband and I have recently discovered this series; it’s smart, fast paced, and the characters exchange brilliant quips. However, sometimes I have to pause and talk out the plot to make sure I’m following everything…
I can’t remember the exact quote from the show, but it was something like:
Hospitality is the ostensible reason for your visit, but I don’t buy it.
Ostensible is one of those words I should know back from high school and the SATs.
ostensible \ä-‘sten-sə-bəl\ adj from Latin ostendere meaning “in front of”, from ob- to show + tendere to stretch; intended for display; being such in appearance; plausible rather than demonstrably true
Aha! I should have thought about the word ostentatious, which means showy. Ostensible is all about appearances, not necessarily the truth. (A perfect word for Sherlock.)
Word Nerd Workout
It’s back to school week here at our house; let’s get into academic mode. Here’s an analogy for you to complete, which reviews a previous WWW word:
inchoate:imperfectly formed :: ostensible: ____________
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Julia
Spread the word on Twitter:
I’ve got to watch Sherlock; I’ve heard such great things about it. Ostensible is a great word and sadly, makes me think of Robin Williams who I only wanted to think of as happy and funny all the time. Me pretending something that wasn’t necessarily true.
Two new words for me.
I’ve seen inchoate. Never knew the meaning. Interesting.
Ostensible is a new one. I think we have had inchoate before and I certainly came across it fairly recently in a book.
That makes perfect sense when you think of ostentatious!
inchoate:imperfectly formed :: ostensible:superficial
We found that show a few months ago. Love it! So sorry there are so few of them….
Me too! Only three to a season (a long three, but still…)