Wondrous Words Wednesday
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, and join the fun! (Don’t forget to leave a link in the comments if you’re participating.)
All of my words this week came from The Gendarme by Mark T. Mustian.
1. bey – “I annoyed the bey’s staff with my questions, my frequent appearances.”
I felt like I’d come across this word before, but I couldn’t remember its meaning. A bey was a provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire.
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2. kaffiyeh – “The tall man’s kaffiyeh disappears below an outcrop.”
A kaffiyeh is an Arab headdress consisting of a square of cloth folded to form a triangle and held on by a cord.
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3. narghile– “More customers arrive, more wine fills thin glasses, water bubbles in the long stemmed narghiles, smoke and chatter hang in the air – the usual course of another full night.”
A narghile is a water pipe for smoking that originated in the Near East. When I looked for pictures of these, I realized they’re the same thing as hookahs.
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Have you discovered any new words lately?
Wow, some cool words! Narghile is something I have read, can’t remember where though!
Ohhh….I love these words.
I never run across great words when I am reading or maybe I just don’t look? Tee Hee.
THANKS.
very interesting words. I guess i never come across that before =p
All these words are new to me too, so thanks for sharing the definitions!
I remember when Arafat was alive, and you heard kaffiyeh on the news almost every night! (He had sort of a trademark one)
These are some great words…I’m betting this is a great book! My words are here:
http://jo-jolovestoread.blogspot.com/2010/10/wondrous-words-wednesday-oct-6.html
Excellent words, Kathy. I recognized none of them!
A bit more exotic words today
These words are really interesting! I have heard kaffiyeh before but I forgot what it means. One thing I love about reading books about or that include a different culture is that you learn terms & definitions of items used by its people.
I got it together today & have posted some words from my reading, too as well as from a cool website I discovbered!
Amy’s Wednesday Words!
I hope you like them!
~ Amy
What a great meme! Many times I’ve noted a “new word” during my reading. Then what? Very rarely will I incorporate it into my vocabulary. At least now I have a way of sharing my new-found words. Next I’ll get around to using some of them. Here’s my very first post for this meme. Okay, Kathy, now I’m going to look up “hookah.”
After what feels like a very long hiatus, I’m back: http://wordlily.com/2010/10/06/words-from-my-reading-51/
I love the word narghile! Great picks!
The second one is the only word I knew from this list, but bey did look familiar. Then I realized (for me) it’s because my kids have been begging for this toy called “beyblades.”
I have a copy of this book. I hope I can remember these words when I start reading.
Only one word for me today: Joyfully Retired.
You’ll see some of these again in a future WWW!
I don’t recognize any of these words, but they’re certainly fun (especially narghile).
Kathy, if you get some time, please read the update to my post from this morning. I can’t believe I encountered my word in another book that I’ve been listening to in my vehicle. What are the odds! I’m always talking about serendipity; and it keeps happening. Here’s the link.
Another new word! Never heard “narghile” before. But I actually do have a friend who used to use a hookah to smoke cigarettes with. Back then, I just thought it was a nasty habit – now I’m thinking it was extremely exotic!
Wow! These words were all completely foreign to me this week. Great choices!
Hey Kathy, I don’t think I’ve heard any of these words before… but now I do, thanks to you!
Are those really English words?? LOL
I like the sound of bey…. it reminds me of our Canadian “ehh”