A Plethora of Words ©

As long as I can remember, I have loved words. A single descriptive word or phrase can turn a dull statement into a small story or set a scene. 

I love the way words look, and especially the way some words sound. If words had a smell, I imagine they would smell like old books in a library with a pinch of sweet or sour depending on their origins.

A survey conducted by the British Council among 40,000 overseas English learners revealed that “Mother” was voted as the most beautiful English word from among 70 listed English words. For each of us the word "mother" must engender different memories or smells.

In this entry though we are looking at words that sound interesting when spoken. There is no agreement about what word is the most interesting spoken word, though a linguist Dr Beard has written a book entitled “The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English.” Some of Dr Beard’s chosen words, along with several others garnered from across the internet as well as a couple of my own, are included for your enjoyment. 

Abominable	Uh-bom-in-a-bul	Something that is very unpleasant or bad.
Ailurophile	Ail-yer-oh-file	A cat-lover.
Anemone	U-nem-oh-nee	Any of various plants belonging to the genus Anemone, of the buttercup family
Betwixt	Bi-twikst	Neither the one nor the either; or in the middle
Desuetude	Des'wi-tood	The state of no longer being used or practiced.
Diaphanous	dD-aff-inuss	Very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent; or delicately hazy
Ebullience	E-byoo-lee-ens	Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent	Eff-er-vess-sent	Fizzy, sparkling, bubbling; lively, vibrant
Efflorescence	Eff-ler-ess-ens	Flowering, blooming.
Elixir	E-lick-shee-ya	A good potion.
Eloquence	Ell-oh-kwens	Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Ephemeral	Eff-em-er-ul	Short-lived, transient, fleeting
Epiphany	Eh-piff-un-nee	A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile	Erst-why-l	At one time, for a time.
Ethereal	Eh-thee-ree-ul	Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Ethonomia	Etho-no-mee-ya	Inability to recall the names of people
Evanescent	Evan-ess-ent	Vanishing like vapour
Evocative	Evok-i-tiv	Suggestive.
Fugacious	Fyoo-gay-shus	Fleeting.
Gossamer	Goss-im-uh	Delicate, sheer, flimsy, filmy, transparent
Harbinger	Har-bin-juh	Messenger with news of the future.
Hoopla	Hoo-plar	Bustling excitement or activity; commotion; hullabaloo; to-do.
Idiosyncrasy	Id-ee-uh-sin-krar-see	A characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individua
Ineffable	In-eff-uh-bull	Unutterable, inexpressible.
Innocuous	In-ok-yoo-us	Not harmful or injurious; harmless
Labyrinthine	Lab-uh-rin-theen	Twisting and turning.
Lackadaisical	Lax-uh-day-zik-ul	Without interest; listless; lethargic; orlazy
Lassitude	Lass-i-tyoo-d	Weariness, listlessness.
Lilt	Lill-t	To move musically or lively.
Lithe	Lie-th	Slender and flexible.
Loquacious	Lo-kway-shus	Talking or tending to talk much or freely
Luscious	Lush-us	Richly satisfying to the senses or the mind; or richly adorned
Mellifluous	Mell-if-yoo-us	Sweet sounding.
Murmurous	Mer-muh-rus	Murmuring.
Nebulous	Neb-yoo-lus	Vague, hazy, imprecise, ill-defined
Nemesis	Nem-i-sis	An unconquerable archenemy.
Opulent	Op-yoo-lent	Lush, luxuriant.
Panacea	Pan-a-shee-uh	cure-all, universal remedy, magic potion
Panoply	Pan-op-lee	A complete set.
Paraphernalia	Para-fuh-nay-lee-uh	Personal belongings or items used in a particular activity; equipment.
Parsimonious	Par-sim-oh-nee-us	Excessively sparing or frugal - or a nice way to say stingy
Penumbra	Pin-um-bruh	A half-shadow.
Pernicious	Per-nish-us	Causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; or hurtful
Persnickety	Per-snik-i-tee	Overparticular; fussy; or snobbish
Plethora	Ple-thu-ruh	Overabundant, surfeit, excess, glut
Prestidigitation	Press-ti-dij-i-tay-shun	A magic trick
Propinquity	Pro-ping-kwi-tee	An inclination.
Quintessential	Kwin-ti-sen-shul	Most essential.
Quixotic	Kwik-sot-ik	Extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; or rashly unpredictable
Redolent	Red-oh-lent	Fragrant.
Riparian	Ripe-air-ee-un	By the bank of a stream.
Salubrious	Su-loo-bree-us	Favorable to or promoting health; healthful:
Schmooze	Sh-moo-z	To gossip
Scintillate	Sin-til-ate	To be brilliant, animated; to sparkle
Serendipity	S-air-ren-dip-itty	Chance, destiny, fate, luck, providence, fortune
Soliloquy	Soh-lill-i-kwee	The act of speaking to oneself
Sprocket	Sprok-et	A tooth of a wheel
Sumptuous	Sum-shoo-us	Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious	S-air-rip-tish-us	Secretive, sneaky.
Susurrus	Soo-ser-us	Rustling or whispering sound
Symbiosis	Sim-bee-oh-sus	Cooperative relationship between dissimilar entities
Tintinnabulation	Tin-tin-ab-yoo-lay-shun	Tinkling.
Ubiquitous	Yoo-bik-wuh-tus	Existing or being everywhere
Ukulele	Yoo-ka-lay-lee	Small stringed musical instrument
Undulate	Un-joo-late	To move with a sinuous or wavelike motion; or to have a wavy form or surface
Voluminous	Voll-oo-min-us	Of ample size, extent, or fullness

Unusual words:
Brouhaha	Broo-ha-ha	Commotion, ruckus, brawl
Clatterfart	Clat-ter-far-t	A chatterer; babbler
Clishmaclaver	Clish-mu-kla-ver	Casual chat or gossip
Cockamamie	Cock-a-may-mee	Trifling, almost valueless; ludicrous, nonsensical
Discombobulate	Dis-com-bob-yoo-late	Confuse, upset
Exiguity	Eks-i-joo-i-tee	Synonym for sparseness.
Flapdoodle	Flap-doo-dul	Foolish talk; nonsense
Flibbertigibbet	Fli-ber-tee-ji-bert	Flighty, silly individual
Gobbledygook	Go-bull-dee-guk	Nonsense, gibberish, drivel
katzenjammer	Kat-zen-jam-mer	Hangover; distress; depression; or a discordant clamor.
Kerfuffle	Ker-fuff-ul	Fuss, commotion
Malarkey	Mall-ar-kee	Nonsense, rubbish, gibberish
Mammothrept	Mam-oh-thre-pt	A child raised by its grandmother; or spoiled child
Mollycoddle	Moll-ee-cod-dul	Pamper, spoil, overprotect
Rigmarole	Rig-mar-role	Meaningless or confused speech; complicated, ritualized procedure
Shenanigan	She-nan-i-gen	Mischievous activities
Skedaddle	Ski-dad-dul	Run off, get out, bolt, scarper
Skullduggery	Skull-dug-er-ree	Unscrupulous behaviour; devious trick
Suspiration	Sus-per-ray-shun	A long deep breath; sigh (though to me it sounds like the act of drinking sarsaparilla)
Troglodyte	Trog-loh-dite	Ancient cave dweller; person who has outmoded attitudes

Words that almost seem to describe themselves (I'm sure there are lots more you can think of)
Glimmer	Shimmer	Swoosh
Glisten	Slither	Twinkle
Nincompoop	Sparkle	Zing
Obnoxious

Do you have some words that you love to pronounce? Do you like the way they feel when you roll them around in your mouth? Then please let me know which ones are your favourites.

May your articulation be filled with a plethora of sumptuous and scintillating words.