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Wednesday 24 February 2021

Nuts and Bolts: commuovere.

 English has more words than any other language, but it's still full of holes.

We don't quite have a word for commuovere.

Commuovere means to induce intense emotional participation, arousing feelings of pity and pain and passion.

You can use it of a story that moves you to tears.

Angelica Kauffmann: Ariadne deserted by Theseus

I find there are more of those as I get older. 

Still, I suppose that's better than getting cynical.

Word To Consider Using Today: commuovere. It isn't a very British kind of thing, being moved to tears, and perhaps that's why we need to borrow a word for it. The word comes from the Latin commoveō, to move or affect.


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