'A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.'
~ WH Auden
Agree! So in love with language that words stop and start you, that a phrase can stun you and keep you in reverie for days, that the learning and using of language is a privilege, a magic trick, that language is a kind of love, words stars in the blank page of existence.
In keeping with Auden's point, below are the acclaimed 100 most beautiful words from the English language - to fall passionately in love with. Give or take a few (we all have our own personal favourites) I agree with the list. (But there are so many more that could be added!)
I definitely swoon over all those 'e' words anyway: 'ebullience,' 'effervescent' (actually sounds like it's bubbling doesn't it?!), 'ephemeral' (ahhh), 'evanescent'. (I'd add to those 'elusive'.) Oh and 'gossamer'! 'Halcyon'! 'Mellifluous' (sigh). Just look at those lovely 'l' words, lithe and languorous on the lips. Not to mention 'quintessential'. And the sparkle of 'serendipity'. But why not end it with 'zenith' or 'zany'? Not to forget 'xylophone'! Ah so many words! I think there could be many more hundreds of words to add to this to make the ultimate list. Not to mention other languages. (French is one that every single word is a singsong delight.)
Is your favourite word here? If not, do share - fling a word, a star of brightness, into the cyber void! I'd love to hear something ping in this silence of the blogosphere, in which I have many followers, but so few commentators.
Dedicated to all of us in love with language - poets, writers, logophiles, lovers, linguists, readers, raconteurs.
~ Siobhán
This is awesome :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it just! Glad you enjoyed it Neilson. Thanks for commenting.
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