This blog is for everyone who uses words.

The ordinary-sized words are for everyone, but the big ones are especially for children.



Sunday 20 January 2013

Sunday Rest: Word Not To Use Today: turdine.

Yes, this word means relating to, or characteristic of...

Well, what do you think?

The word certainly has a warm feel about it, doesn't it?

And a certain round brownness...

And of course this is just what you'd expect, because turdine means to do with...

...thrushes.

Yes, that's right. Thrushes. The spotty singing things:

Wood Thrush

That beauty is a Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, from America.

And here's an English Song Thrush, er, singing:

 
Both turdine, without a doubt.
 
But glorious, all the same.
 
Word Not To Use Today: turdine. I mean, what's wrong with thrush-like? Or thrushy? Turdine comes from the Latin turdus, which means thrush.



2 comments:

  1. It's because of the word included in it that I don't think I'll ever knowingly use this, except in ornithological circumstances!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. And even then it's probably best avoided unless you're speaking to a word nut.

    ReplyDelete

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