I'm a Logophile!

Wait! A logo-what? Logophile doesn't deal with logos that portrays a symbol of identity to a person, group, or community. It's simply a person who loves words. I am and proud!

One of my frequent pasttimes of my childhood was holding our home dictionary, scan the words and try to identify its use or visualize its appearance because 95% of the lexicon's pages are image-less. Sometimes, I close my eyes, flip the pages then randomly point to a word in a random area. And voila! Instant word of the day :)

As a matter of fact, when Oh-Wheezers was brought to life on 2008, in my sidebar, I have placed a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) of Dictionary.com's Word of the Day. It has been there ever since, constantly notifying me.

I indubitably enjoy discovering new words (especially unique) and recalling old ones. As much as possible, have them planted inside my vocabulary permanently. Besides, I do believe there's a word for everything! We may not be aware 'cause it's either we opt to explain the situation or substitute another.

Here's an example. Let's say our friend is happy. We can use the word 'happy' alone but how happy is he? Depending on the situation we could conclude enthusiastic, overjoyed, excited, pleased, thrilled, or ecstatic. Another example, a group of 5 people, each with different hats on. Mentioning 'hat' is redundant, we may later classify them as toque, stetson, fedora, bearskin, and a cloche. This clearly gives our readers a bright idea to the way we describe things and thankfully, always summarizes the tedious explanations.

There were moments when I mildly contemplate whether I need to know unfamiliar words because oftentimes, I don't need them. As much as possible, I read their definitions and hopefully when I encounter them, I would be able to recall it. This applies mainly to novels and articles. Sometimes, the authors use strong, powerful words that draws readers to opinions, enlightenment, or debate. I find it painstakingly lose my focus if about 10 words in spoken or written text is a blur.

What I like about unfamiliar words, especially those used by my friends or colleagues is that we could subconsciously exchange them. If there was a point of discussion to the words used, then the better of remembering them. Besides, I like it when I know a word that others don't XD

And no, I don't have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. It just takes time to memorize long words. Nothing to fear though lols

Now don't get the idea that I have mastered the dictionary and know how to apply everything through speech or text such as here in my blog. The whole point of being a logophile is the fact that we love words, their definitions, origin, history, and how they are used. Having to learn them beforehand has put a great deal of enjoyment :)

There are more words to be discovered and yet to be created everyday. Can't wait to read their definitions and use them accordingly :)

Tweet Pin It