Words I have heard and read recently

When I hear or read words I have not encountered, I often make a mental note. "This word is new." If I have my phone nearby, I sometimes look up the definition of a word. This morning, for instance, I read a few words in The Guardian whose meanings I did not know. I looked them up so that I could better understand the articles I was reading. Over the last few days, I have been diligent in documenting the words I have newly encountered.

I shall share a few below, alongside a snippet of the definition that I'll write to help me remember these words in the future (In the spirit of spaced repetition: Encountering something over and over again in different contexts helps one learn the material.).

Here are the words:

• Pensive: In deep thought;
• Jailer: Someone in charge of a jail (I heard this word in ...Ready for It? by Taylor Swift);
• Prevaricate: Speak evasively and;
• Emanciated: Unusually thin or weak, possibly a result of illness.

There is one more word, or rather phrase, that came to mind yesterday that I want to mention: "iambic pentameter." It sounds cool. It is a type of structure used in poetry, often used by Shakespeare. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) defines the term "iambic pentameter" as follows:

The rhythm of iambic pentameter is like a heartbeat, with one soft beat and one strong beat repeated five times.

It is heartwarming that there are so many words out there in the English language to encounter. I feel a little bit of joy every time I hear a new word and the aforementioned "This word is new." thought pops into my head.

Tagged in writing, words.