Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where you can share new words that you’ve encountered or spotlight words you love.  Feel free to get creative!   If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky!

So far this week, I haven’t encountered any new words in my reading so I’m relying on my Word-a-Day calendar today.

1. hachure – “In the early years of the survey, hachuring was used to indicate the steepness of slopes on maps. . .” – – – Robin E. Kelsey, The Art Bulletin, December 1, 2003

Hachure is a verb that means to shade with or show by short lines used for denoting surfaces in relief (as in a map drawing) and drawn in the direction of slope.

_____________________________________________________

2. maieutic – “I am grateful to him for his maieutic inquiry about my own views, which had not crystallized.” – – – William F. Buckley, Jr., Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 27, 1973

Maieutic is an adjective that means relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another.

_____________________________________________________

3. encomium – “The book is beautifully written and unquestioningly deserves the encomiums of critics . . .” – – – David Milofsky, The Denver Post, August 2, 2009

Encomium is a noun that means glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise, also: an expression of this.

_____________________________________________________

What words do you want to celebrate today?