Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Kathy at Bermudaonion's Weblog, 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 come from Pat Conroy's "South of Broad."1. Bailiwick: "Unlike any other family I knew, the kitchen was my father's bailiwick and his alone."
As used here, bailiwick means a person's skill, knowledge, authority or work.
2. Etiolated: "Each semester she taught a graduate-level course on Joyce at the College of Charleston that was both highly praised and fully subscribed to by students as etiolated as egrets."
Defined as "to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor. "
3. Lassitude: "When I became aware of Starla's great lassitude of spirit, and the flimsiness of her hold on sanity, my greatest fear became that she would take her own life..."
The dictionary defines lassitude as "a condition of weariness or debility."
This book is loaded with wonderous words--it's one of the things that makes me enjoy Conroy's writing. What wonderous words have you read lately?
I have heard of Lassitude, but did not know its meaning!
ReplyDeleteWow! The only one of the three I knew is lassitude! I hope I remember the others when I finally read South of Broad. Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteI just finished a book loaded with Scottish slang, and spent a great deal of time on google, looking for definitions! (it turned out that many of them were words you wouldn't want to use on a family blog!)
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Those some words, I swear! Never heard of the first two and always wondered what the third one really meant.
ReplyDeleteGOOD words! I know bailiwick and might have guessed correctly for lassitude. I like etoliated - sounds a stuffy for ordinary conversation?
ReplyDeleteGOOD words! I know bailiwick and might have guessed correctly for lassitude. I like etoliated - sounds a stuffy for ordinary conversation?
ReplyDeleteI've always equated etiolated with intoxicated...now I see how wrong I was :)
ReplyDeletethis is so in my bailiwick. I first herd this word used by an instructor as a rejection for working with me several years ago. I quoted her constantly to my friends. "Sorry, this is out of my bailiwick."
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