Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wondrous Words Wednesday-Sept. 30



Bermudaonion asks you to share new words that you have learned during your reading adventures in the last week. Feel free to join in the fun!

I have been finding quite a few new words as I have been reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Aperture:  an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, gap, etc.

Here is how aperture was used on page 22:
From this aperture, the subterranean rivers traveling under sixty-two kilometers of ice shot into the open with an airblast like a jet engine's exhaust.

Prelapsarian:  characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period.

Here is how prelapsarian was used on page 30:
Thirty-five years later, the Balti still lived with the same lack of modern conveniences, but after even a few days in the village, Mortenson began to see that Korphe was far from the prelapsarian paradise of Western fantasy.

Soliloquies: [suh-lil-uh-kwees]an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present.

Here is how soliloquies was used on page 102:
But much as he enjoyed the first fond soliloques about Pope John Paul, Mortenson learned that, after enough vodka, Dudzinski simply spoke to no one in particular.

Bharal:  a wild sheep.

Here is how bharal was used on page 116:
A 1973 trek with Schaller through western Nepal to study the Bharal, or blue sheep, became the basis of Peter Matthiessen's stark masterpiece The Snow Leopard.

Caravansary:  an inn, usually with a large courtyard, for the overnight accommodation of caravans.

Here is how caravansary was used on page 245:
They stopped for the night at Sost, a former Silk Road caravansary reincarnated as a truck stop for Bedfords plying the road to China.

Messianic: a zealous leader of some cause or project.
Mullah:  a title of respect for a person who is learned in, teaches, or expounds the sacred law.

Here is how messianic and mullah were both used on page 244:
Their simple belief in a messianic, puritan Islam which had been drummed into them by simple village mullahs was the only prop they could hold on to and which gave their lives some meaning.

So what kind of new words did you learn in your reading adventures?

11 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

Quite a mouthful of words. Thanks!

Wondrous Words Wednesdays

bermudaonion said...

Wow, those are some words. It looks like you need a dictionary to read that book. Thanks for participating today!

Julie P. said...

That's quite a list. I haven't read THREE CUPS OF TEA yet!

Beth(bookaholicmom) said...

Wow! Those are some words. I have heard that Three Cups Of Tea is a good read.

Unknown said...

I didn't do my words today but I think your batch is enough to share :)
I finally know exactly what "soliloquies' means. I have always had an inkling but never knew for certain. Not only that, I also apparently perform a lot of these myself lol!

Margaret aka: Fact Woman said...

I enjoyed that book! I finished The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (hated it) and one word from it was "sucio". It means sexually promiscuous, dirty, sinful. It was used, "Knew exactly what kind of sucio I was. Two days after we broke up saw me hitting on one of her Line-sisters and turned her back to me.

Unknown said...

You have soma major words here! I like prelapsarian although it might be tough to use! I didn't know there was a different word for a wild sheep. And I love that there's a word for an Inn for caravans!

I might read that book just because of these great words! (It's on my TBR list actually!)

Alyce said...

I haven't heard of prelapsarian, bharal or caravansary before.

Margot at Joyfully Retired said...

I have this book but I haven't read it yet. I can see I'm going to need the dictionary nearby when I do read it. That's okay. I like learning new words.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea Jo-Jo! I've actually considered doing something similar on my site (great minds...LOL), as I often come across new words as I read. I always jot them down and look them up later (I usually do my recreational reading in bed).

I'll definitely be stopping by and will keep my list so that I can contribute to your "Wondrous Words Wednesday!!"

Jenny Girl said...

You do learn something new everyday. Thanks jo-jo!