Today's new word is IRENIC

Number one on my list of New Year's Resolutions for 2009 was to learn a new word a day--or maybe a week. I expanded the borders a bit on this one--deciding a new word could just be one I'd skip over in reading, but probably not be confident to ever use. I keep a small spiral bound note pad next to the lamp in the living room, which is next to my parents Merriam-Webster 2nd Unabridged New International (1948) in the dining room. I find it much more satisfying to use rather than an on-line source, although it bothers my back just a stitch to lean over (sits on my mother's sewing cabinet).

I write on approximately 20 topics if you count all my blogs, everything from childhood memories of Camp Emmaus, to first issues of journals, to political campaigns to misuse of credit. However, the difficulty level of my blog (when I type in the URL to one of those widgets) is always middle school or high school. I think in order to rate higher, you need to use a lot of non-English words or quote famous people, neither of which I do.

So today's new word is IRENIC. Here's the context, the reason I wrote it down

"While not declaring the Roman Catholic Church apostate, Norman Geisler and Joshua Betancourt address the doctrines that evangelicals find problematic in Catholicism. The work is irenic in tone, meticulous in examination, and extensive in sourcing and footnoting."

Change that e to an o and you get IRONIC, which is what my mind tends to do when I'm not sure. However, IRENIC means peaceful or conciliatory. If your name or your mother's name is IRENE, it's from the Greek, "goddess of peace."

Other new or rarely used words for January

1. effete--excessive self indulgence, feeble, impotent, no longer fertile
   
2. immanence--nearness of God, God with us, Emmanuel
   
3. eremacausis--slow burning fire; gradual oxidation, decay
   
4. solecism--speaking incorrectly; minor blunder in speech; breach of etiquette
   
5. immutable--not capable or susceptible of change; unchangeable
   
6. insensate--without sensation; without sense or intelligence; unfeeling or foolish
   
7. Euroclydon--tempestuous northeast wind of the Mediterreanean
   
8. gibbet--gallows; to execute by hanging; a projecting arm of a crane; to expose to infamy

What's really fun is to see how other bloggers use these words. For instance, would you ever say or write, "effete Arugula"? That's stretching it a bit, don't you think? I avoid arugula in spring mix--think it is bitter. And would you feel safe living in the Euroclydon Nursing Home?