about word of the day

Each day The Muse Of Language Arts dissects a word (or combination of words) and explains its meaning. The Muse chooses some words because they're rare, others because they're there.

The Muse is not simply after the dictionary definition of the word or words, but rather seeks to lift the rocks that words hide under. The Muse asks how and why a word is used the way it is and assesses how the word relates to other words.

In extreme cases you may wonder if a word is legitimate, but there's never anything phony about the chosen word or the way it's used. The Muse's dissection shows that even legitimate words can have their dark (and light) side.

Of course, words are fundamental to the language arts.

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more about words

The Muse Of Language Arts sincerely hopes that you have enjoyed Today's Word Of The Day. If your experience with Word Of The Day leads you to suspect that words can be interesting, amusing, edifying or informative, you ain't seen nuttin' yet:

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What there is to say about a word

Of course, the meaning or idea expressed by a word is the most important thing there is to say about it. A word is a symbol. The idea it represents—its symbolism—is the reason for its existence, the rationale for why it was devised in the first place, and the purpose for its use whenever it's invoked.

For many words it's also important to discuss how the word employs language to express its meaning—that is, the way it uses language. Twists on words, figures of speech such as metaphors or similes, allusions, exaggeration, relationships with other words, multiple meanings, different ways a word is used in different contexts, alternate spellings or pronunciations, etc.—these and many other linguistic devices can add to or alter a word's meanings considerably.

Thus, besides a word's meaning, also worthy of discussion is its philology.

Philology is the study of literary texts and written records; it's the establishment of the authenticity of words and their original form and the determination of their meaning.

The science and art of philology includes the study of cultural, political, social and geographical origins of languages and words. It encompasses the history of changes in the meaning of languages and words and the manner of their expression. It's the study of language and word development and the reasons for their creation or change.

From a practical perspective, philology is the study and analysis of how languages and words develop. It's the study of literature and of other disciplines relevant to literature and language as they are used in literature. It's also linguistics, especially historical and comparative linguistics, including human speech, especially speech as a vehicle of literature. And from the perspective of another discipline, it's a field of history that sheds light on cultural history.

The Muse Of Language Arts and The Muse Of Literature take into account all these aspects of a word when they present it.

—note— scope Please note that discussions of words presented by Electricka's Muses are not exhaustive. They present only those aspects of a word the Muse's consider most interesting and rewarding for Electricka's visitors. If you wish to explore a word further, the Muses suggest that you consult philological authorities.

words, words, words

Where would we be without them? Words can be interesting, amusing, edifying, informative, challenging, tantalizing, unsettling, annoying, or titilating. To demonstrate this fact, every day The Muse Of Language Arts:

• Defines, explains, and dissects a different word or expression. Visit The Muse's page called Word Of The Day: click here.
• Pulls apart a different word, looking for its roots. Visit The Muse's page called Word Origins for the etymological origins of words. click here.
• Presents a newly invented or well established portmanteau word for your consideration. Visit The Muse's page called Portmanteau Words: click here.
• Presents a different Latin word or expression: click here.
• Presents a mangled word that may give you pause to think—or laugh. Visit The Muse's page called Wrong Word of the Day: click here.

Electricka's resource shelf

Want to look up the meanings of words online? Electricka's Reference Shelf contains or provides access to numerous dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works that contain all sorts of information about words, among them an etymology dictionary, conventional dictionaries, encyclopedias, and thesauri. These references are the result of a collaboration between Electricka and The Muse Of Language Arts, so you know they have to be good.

• Visit Electricka's Reference Shelf: click here.