I'm a word nerd. I have a page in the back of my journal to save special words. Unknown-to-me words. Gems. Words that may be mundane in another language but are mysterious in English. We can't have all the words! It's so fun to come across words that express a common - even universal - idea.
Isn't it beautiful to think that in every language - all over the world - people are communicating life and love; the important and the little; the fragile and the powerful? Through words.
These are some of my favorites. The last one is my very favorite. I wonder what the word is that means a favorite word. There must be one!
sehnsucht (German) - the inconsolable longing in the human heart for a far, familiar, non-earthly land one can identify as one’s home.
fernweh (German) - a craving for travel. Being homesick for a place you’ve never been.
sonder (French) - the realization that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
waldeinsamkeit (German) - the feeling of being alone in the woods.
anemoia (ancient Greek) - nostalgia for a tie you have never known.
dolce far niente (Italian) - the sweetness of doing nothing.
quiddity (from medieval Latin) - the essence of something; whatness.
soubhiye - Lebanese Arabic - the time in the morning when no one else is awake.
hygge (Danish) - coziness.
coddiwomple (English slang) - to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.
"Good words are worth much,
and cost little."
- George Herbert
