I heard another ten dollar word today. Tumescent.
tumescent
adj : abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas
Is it somehow similar to turgid? It seems like it should be. They feel the same, to me, anyway.
turgid
adj 1: ostentatiously lofty in style; "a man given to large talk";
"tumid political prose" [syn: {bombastic}, {declamatory},
{large}, {orotund}, {tumid}]
2: abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas; "hungry
children with bloated stomachs"; "he had a grossly
distended stomach"; "eyes with puffed (or puffy) lids";
"swollen hands"; "tumescent tissue"; "puffy tumid flesh"
[syn: {bloated}, {distended}, {puffed}, {puffy}, {swollen},
{tumescent}, {tumid}]
As far as the derivation goes:
Etymology: Latin tumescent-, tumescens, present participle of tumescere to swell up, inchoative of tumEre to swell
Etymology: Latin turgidus, from turgEre to be swollen
So they aren't related any more than tumble and fumble are related. The first is Middle English and the second is Scandinavian. But I do love the word "Scandinavian". I think if it made patterns of colors in the air when it was spoken, it would look like a Viking ship wearing a sweater. And if it looked like that it would likely taste a bit like wool and wood. And then it wouldn't be much fun to say. And then I wouldn't like it anymore.
But it doesn't look like anything in the air, so two things are wonderfully true. One, I'm not as kooky as I would be if, to me, words looked like things floating in the air. Two, I can still like the word "Scandinavian".
Posted by dotty at May 4, 2005 10:14 PM