Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

I think everyone is tired of election talk, and frankly, I am too. So this week, I’ll focus again on one of my favorite topics: education. Specifically, learning more about our language.

I went to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website and browsed through their “Word of the Day” feature archive. It’s a nice way to expand your vocabulary and learn interesting facts about the history of the words.

We may all be burned out on national political news for a while, so take a break for a few moments and read on for some fun and interesting words instead:

Chthonic – “Of or relating to the underworld”

This one looks difficult to pronounce at first glance, but the “ch” at the beginning is actually silent, thanks to the word’s Greek origins. It’s derived from the Greek word “chthon” which means “earth” and it’s usually related to Greek mythology, referencing underworld inhabitants such as Hades.

If you’re not having regular conversations about mythology (not many people are these days, I think), you can also use this word as an adjective to describe things that might seem similar to your vision of what an underworld looks like. Merriam-Webster’s example was “chthonic darkness.”

Coruscate – “To give off or reflect light in bright beams or flashes” and can also be used to mean “to be brilliant or showy in technique or style.”

“Sparkle” is a synonym for this word, which makes sense because it used to only refer to things that literally glittered or gleamed, such as a star sparkling in the night sky. But over the years, the word has taken on a figurative meaning as well, like if you describe someone as having a “coruscating wit.”

Fugacious – “a formal word describing something that lasts only a short time”

This is a fun one to say, in my opinion, because that first syllable is pronounced as “fyoo.” It’s a synonym for “ephemeral,” which means something brief that fades away. It originates from the Latin words “fugax” (swift, fleeting) and “fugere” (to run away).

But I think the most interesting thing about this word is not its metaphorical uses, but that it’s also used literally in the field of botany to describe the parts of a plant that are shed quickly, such as petals, seeds, fruits, etc. The dictionary’s example was vanilla plants, which have “fugacious blossoms” that only last for a single day of the blooming season. Neat, huh?

Skirl – “to play to bagpipes” (when you are talking about a person) or “to emit the high shrill tone of the chanter, which is the reed pipe of the bagpipe” (when you are talking about the instrument itself).

I just think it’s cool how oddly specific this word is, and how it can be used differently depending on what you’re talking about. And, as the dictionary notes, not many musical instruments have their very own verb!

The Scottish poet Robert Sempill was the first to use “skirl” to describe the sound a bagpipe makes, because the word originally meant “to shriek.” These days, the word is used often enough for the musical instrument that bagpipe players shouldn’t be offended by the description. (Probably.)

Chockablock – “very full or tightly packed”

Like fugacious, I also included this word in the list just because it’s fun to say. Who doesn’t like a word that rhymes within itself! It really just rolls off the tongue while speaking.

But the history of the word is also a bit interesting too because I never would have guessed its nautical origins. It’s a combination of “chock,” which was a wedge used to keep items from moving, and “block and tackle” which was the pulley system used to hoist the sails. If you were raising the sails on a ship and the rope got to the point where it can’t move any farther, that’s called “chockablock.”

Today, we can use the word to describe anything that’s “full to its limit” with the word. So you don’t have to be a sailor to say it.

Gadabout – “a person who flits about in social activity, as by going to many places and social events for pleasure”

If you thought of “social butterfly” as a synonym for this word, you’re not the only one. I thought of it while reading the definition, and then the dictionary itself mentioned it too. But you can also associate the “gadabout” with the gadfly, which is an insect (such as a horsefly) that bites and annoys livestock (and also people).

Merriam-Webster points out, however, that there isn’t any clear connection between the two words. So the similarities might just be a coincidence.

All I know for sure is that no one would ever accuse me of being a “gadabout” or a social butterfly. I prefer to stay home when possible!

Otiose – “something that serves no useful purpose, or something that has no use or effect”

Despite how it looks, this word is pronounced “oh-shee-ohss” which I think could be useful to know, even if this formal word isn’t used enough to be useful in everyday conversations.

The word, which has Latin origins, was first used in the late 18th century to talk about leisurely activities that are “pointless.” But by the 19th century, the word was also used to describe people who indulge too much in leisure.

Personally, I don’t think leisure is pointless at all – everyone needs a break every now and then – so I don’t think you’ll find me using this word often. Still, it’s another interesting one to tuck away for later.

Perhaps, you might think this column is a bit otiose and the words somewhat fugacious, but I think it was chockablock full of information. You never know when you might run into a gadabout with a coruscating wit, and need to have something to talk about!

Holly Taylor is a Staff Writer for Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact her at holly.taylor@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7206.