Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme where readers share new words they’ve encountered during the week. Visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion and find links to more fantastic new vocabulary.
First, thanks to everyone who expressed concern about my daughter and her concussion. She is doing great. Her biggest problem last week was “cognitive rest.” No reading, computer, or T.V. most of the week. She didn’t know what to do with herself and finally resorted to Legos.
Can you imagine being told to rest but NOT read? Torture!
On to learning a new word…
My entry this week comes from the profile of one of my new followers on Twitter. John Sowers includes writing, knife making, and “mythopoeia” in his interests. I hope I’m not the only one who doesn’t know what “mythopoeia” means
mythopoeia \mith-ə-‘pē-yə\ noun from the Greek mythos, mythology,+ poiein, to make; a creating of myths; giving rise to myths
Note that the word has four syllables, not five. “Poe” sounds like “pea”.
Well, of course an author would enjoy creating myths! Thanks for teaching me a new word, John Sowers.
Word Nerd Workout
Can you use mythopoeia in a sentence? Here’s my example:
September 2 marked the anniversary of the death of a man with a great gift for mythopoeia, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Your turn!
Julia
Spread the word on Twitter: Wondrous Word for Wednesday: mythopoeia = the creation of myth via @juliatomiak
Not sure I can use that one in a sentence, but it’s a good one! I’ve been horrible about visiting you, Julia – I didn’t know about your daughter’s concussion. Mine’s had two, and I know how worrisome they can be and how hard it is for kids to rest. Glad she is on the mend!
No worries, Dana. I’ve been busy too. Thanks for your concern.
What a cool word! Wish that could apply to my own writing 🙂
Now Jen, we can’t all write high fantasy. Let’s think of a fancy Latin word for cozy mystery. 😉
Not sure I’d use it in everyday conversation but I like the word 🙂
A couple of weeks ago my word was “bifurcate” and since then I’ve heard the word said on a news channel at least three times (by different people)! Crazy, huh?
That’s fantastic! Just another reason why WWW is so great. Nice to “meet” you Mary. 🙂
That’s a new one for me!
My sentence: I discovered a new word today,mythopoeia, thanks to Julia @ Diary Of A Word Nerd. LOL!!
That’s a great word… My son will love it. He loves Greek & Norse mythology–so amazing that those stores can still fascinate kids today.
My kids know so much more about Greek mythology because of The Lightening Thief series. It’s fun when modern authors bring new life to the old myths. Thanks for stopping by.
A great new word for me.
Wow, that’s a mouthful! I could never be an author because I am not good at mythopoeia.
A nice new word 🙂
Great new word. And, thanks for the pronunciation help.
Creating or giving rise to myths, huh? I’m not going to attempt a sentence, but the word itself has the potential to spawn ideas.
Of course! Dianne, you have a gift for mythopoeia. TED!
Good one! I have to tell you, I almost emailed you last night because I heard the word “vociferous” on the television (a tennis commentator mentioned the “vociferous” crowd). I was like, “Hey! That word was on Wondrous Words Wednesday!” 🙂
Yay! I love it when I hear WWW words “in real life.” Helps them stick, you know?