Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme for people interested in learning new words. Visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion for links to more vocabulary boosters!
My word today comes from Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. Walls has captured the authentic, wise, and humorous voice of her grandmother, Lily. (What a delicate name for such a tough lady!) Although I don’t choose non-fiction, I’m enjoying this “true life novel.”
Lily’s father loved writing and
his sentences were long and extravagant, filled with words like “mendacious” and “abscond” that most of the folks in Toyah would need a dictionary to understand.
I tackled mendacious last week (who remembers what it means? Think tabloids.) Now for abscond, definitely one of those I’ve heard before but can’t remember.
abscond \ab-skänd\ verb from Latin abscondere to hide away, from abs + condere to conceal; to depart secretly and hide oneself; to go away and take something that does not belong to you
Example:
My daughter attempted to abscond with the Snickers in her bedroom, but I followed the trail of wrappers and caught her.
Word nerd note: Condere means to “conceal” and is the base for “condiment” – interesting!
Word Nerd Workout
Complete the analogy:
bivouac : take shelter :: abscond : ____________
Find the relationship between the first two words/phrases and create a parallel relationship in the second pair.
Spread the (word nerd) word on Twitter: Word Nerd Word: abscond = to depart secretly and hide oneself via @juliatomiak
Banned Book Giveaway
I’m giving away a Barnes and Noble gift card to one lucky reader who comments on my Banned Books Week review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stop by and comment by Friday, Oct 3.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me,
Julia
I read this book too a couple of years ago. I loved Lily. I also read lots of mystery/crime novels so abscond is not new to me. The criminals are always absconding with something.
I knew abscond. Love the cover of the book!
This one I knew, enjoyed the snickers story.
I like the word abscond, I might do that sometime when the going gets toug 😉
Condiment’s root is fascinating – I guess you use condiments to hide your food.
I’d say bivouac : take shelter :: abscond : hide
Good one! I like the Snickers example 🙂