Deep English Words Takeaways:
- Deep English words come in two forms: words with deep sounds and words with deep meanings.
- Learning and using both forms of deep words will help you develop a proclivity for layered writing.
- Dord is considered a ghost word, or a word with no established meaning.
- English playwright William Shakespeare had a penchant for deep English words.
- Shakespeare alone created hundreds of words, such as “madcap.”
- Language exists for people to express their ideas.
Let’s explore some of the English language’s unplumbed depths. In this post, we’ll compile an exotic sample of deep English words to help you enrich your content.
Words are more than just a jumbled collection of letters. They are symbols that convey a deeper meaning. The English language is well stocked with words. We know many as Deep English Words.
What are Deep English Words?
Deep English words come in two forms. The first form is words with deep sounds. “Dord“ might be an example of this. The second is words with deep or profound meanings. “Consciousness” might be an example of this type of deep English word.
Shakespeare’s genius was his ability to employ both sides of the deep English words coin at once.
Learning and using both forms of deep words will help you develop a proclivity for layered writing. Infusing your work with nuanced meaning and colorful sounds makes your content shine.
With so much content out there, English words with deep sounds and meanings are one way to stand out from the crowd.
Do you know what the English word “dord” means? It’s actually not a word. But it was briefly considered a word in the 1930s.
This meaningless vocable appeared in 1934 due to a lexicographic error in Webster’s “New International Dictionary.” It wasn’t until 1939 that the publishers discovered the mistake. “Dord” became known as a “ghost word,” or a word that has no established meaning.
Deep Sounds and Meanings Galore
By the turn of the millennium, English hit the one million words mark. And the language is growing at a rate of thousands of new words every year.
Other sources claim the English lexicon only passed this threshold only in 2009. Regardless, it’s 2020, and English is no doubt a millionaire when it comes to words. According to the Global Language Monitor, English now stands at 1,057,379.6 words.
William Shakespeare was prolific with deep words. He loved to use established words in new ways to invent new meanings. This iconic playwright also created new words during his time.
Shakespeare alone created hundreds of words. One of my favorite examples is “madcap.” He invented new words by conjoining existing words.
Also, he turned nouns into verbs or verbs into adjectives. Shakespeare also made liberal use of prefixes and suffixes.
Earlier, we saw that deep English words have either deep sounds or deep meanings.
Shakespeare’s genius was his ability to employ both sides of the deep English words coin at once. He invented words based on their theatrical sounds.
His work is also a kind of literary onion. He enfolded many layers of meaning for audiences to peel back and interpret.
A fracted heart doesn’t care where the word alluding to its plight comes from! The Latin word fractus means “broken.”
In this example, Shakespeare assimilated this Latin word into English. He took away “–us” and added in the suffix “–ed” to anglicize it (englishize?).
Read More: Why English Is Among The ‘Weird Languages’ Of The World
Let’s switch to a more recent example of deep English words.
Mary Poppins may have popularized the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” But it’s not the longest word in the English language.
That honor goes to another mouthful of a word: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
Talk about the risks of being a Chimney sweep. These tongue-twisters don’t carry a deep meaning that justifies their length.
The first seems like a nonsensical word. But since the film’s release, we use it to mean “wonderful.” This deep meaning is much lighter than the term implies.
On the other hand, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (take a breath!) refers to a particular type of lung disease.
This deep English word might be easier to pronounce (and remember) if the name came from sources other than Latin and Greek. One option was to name it after the person who discovered it.
Another would be to name it after a famous patient, like Lou Gehrig‘s disease.
We often refer to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is because the hall-of-fame New York Yankees baseball player developed the condition in the 1930s.
Other than the name Lou, the word “lou” itself has many deep meanings.
It comes from the Old English word lufu. This relic is related to the Latin libēre, which means “to please.” A plethora of senses stems from this meaning.
Read More: 10 Tools to Improve Your Content Creation Process
Creating new words wasn’t unique to Shakespeare. Language is alive and continues to evolve and change like any other lifeform.
Language exists to express ideas. Ideas are like viruses.
Each person that they infect changes the virus a little. Each time a person uses a word, they convey an idea. They personalize the word. They help the idea, and the word takes on new meanings.
This on-going process is an aspect of how language evolves. And times change. So, language and new words are one way we cope with this change.
“Selfie” is a classic example of this.
Digital cameras, especially smartphones, helped introduce this world into our spoken vocabulary. But it wasn’t until 2013 that Oxford Dictionaries accepted it as a “real” word. This was a polemic addition.
You can invent any deep English words you want. And impart the meaning you want. But you can’t always guarantee a place for it in the lexicon.
How you can use Deep English Words (Do try This at Home)
This collection of deep English words is far from exhaustive. We’ll continue to add to it. But get started with these potential meaning adventures that your vocabulary can embark on.
Nonce Words
A nonce word is a particular-occasion-serving word. I just made up one! Nonce words can come as hyphenated compounds.
Dictionaries and friends don’t have to embrace nonce words for them to be words. Actually, by definition, this would defeat the deep meaning of a nonce word. If a nonce formation hits the mainstream, it loses its status as a for-the-once word… Oops! I did it again.
Word and Name Blending
You can also merge the meanings and sounds of words. This is to convey deeper meanings that extend far down the semantic rabbit hole.
Sir Ken Dodd did this to a significant comedic effect. He specialized in blending meanings to create comic portmanteau words.
You can interpret the definition of “Titilifarious” if you know it’s a blend of titillating and hilarious. He merges plump and sumptuous into plumtuous.
Onomatopoeia
Though it sounds like one of his Frankensteins, mellifluous isn’t a Dodd creation. It’s an actual word, and it is mellifluous.
Just like sonorous, it is an example of a deep English word with a deep sound. “Mellifluous” means a sweet and musical sound. “Sonorous” means an imposing and full sound.
You can like this type of deep English word to an onomatopoeia. This is a word that sounds like what it means (just like the word onomatopoeia itself).
Lost Depth
Crutch words or phrases are easy to abuse, especially in spoken English. They exist in other languages, too. Examples are:
- Like
- I mean
- So
- You know
- Literally
They provide the speaker with time to think and the writer with space to emphasize. While they do carry a meaning of their own right, they often add no sense to a statement.
But here is something meta: even though they seem empty, are they a biproduct of consciousness? A word so deep we don’t yet fully understand its meaning.
“Literally” sadly became another abused word. Its real meaning is ironically going into oblivion.
It used to mean “word for word” without hyperbole. But many people use it to emphasize things that aren’t true.
How to add Your own Words to the English Language
Every time you read something; you learn something. You might learn a new word. Or, every time you have a conversation with someone, you learn something.
You might expose yourself to a new idea. Or think of something in a way you never thought of it before.
I spend a lot of time contemplating artificial intelligence and if it is truly able to read and interpret information as a person does. Does that make it conscious? Does that make it intelligent?
Algorithms like Google’s RankBrain can read and interpret content and rank it in search engine results based on that analysis. Content optimization software like INK does the same thing.
As you write, INK reads and interprets your content in real-time. And just like a person, it learns more about the English language every time you use it. You may even teach it new words whether you invent them or just use them for the first time.
If the INK spell checker feature encounters a word it doesn’t know, it gives you the option to add it to the dictionary.
Using deep English words will help differentiate your content. Using content editors like INK enables you to shore up your writing skills. This helps make sure your unique content has the best chance of competing with similar content already out there. Using INK also helps add your own deep English words to our ever-growing lexicon.
Help INK get smarter for free while contributing to the language you know and love.
Comments (0)
Most Recent