The book that I just finished (“A Year of Pleasures” by Elizabeth Berg) contained quite a few words that I have never run across. I always like to think of myself as a person with a pretty good vocabulary, but this is one of those books that makes me rethink that statement. It seems I found quite a few words that I have no idea what they mean. I’m one of these readers who likes to know all of the words in a sentence, so I tend to stop and look them up. If I run across a word that I’m pretty sure I know what it means but I am not completely sure how it’s pronounced, I will often just “make up” a pronunciation in my head and keep going. But a definition, that one always stops me in my tracks. I have to stop and look it up if I can’t figure it out.
Anyway, here’s some of the ones I ran across:
somnambulate– it means to sleep walk
exophthalmic – condition marked by protruding eyeballs
aphorism – an adage
sybaritic – marked by pleasure and luxury
(P.S. You can click on the link above and not only see the definition, but hear the pronunciation. If you’re silly like me and like to hear how things are pronounced. 🙂 )
So, that’s today’s Question of the Day: If you’re reading a book or article and run across a word you do not know the meaning of, do you stop and look it up or do you just try to make up a definition and keep going? Leave me a comment and let me know 🙂
Mostly I look them up! Sometimes I’ll go on and maybe look it up later but lots of times I want to know what it means. I’ve run across some this past year that I had never heard of either.
I had heard of your first word on this list, but that is the only one I knew!
Yes, I look them up. I thought I was the only dork who’d read a book and make a list of words to look up in the dictionary. Yay, other people are weird too! 😉
Oh, I LOVE learning new words! I’ve got this new bookmark that has little tabs on it that you can stick on pages you want to return to later. Usually, I’ll just “try” to remember the word and look it up later. But since I would always forget, I got those tabs that I plan to use this year.
Yes. I usually take a pause and look it up in the dictionary before I continue reading. Although, when I find myself too hooked on a book, I sometimes, just try to look it up later. I just mark the page and go back on it later that day.
I usually just use the context clues in the sentence to guess the meaning and keep reading. I guess if I couldn’t figure it out and it really impacted the storyline, I would stop and look it up.
Yep, definitely look them up. In fact, both my husband and I keep little notebooks in our nightstands to write the words and definitions down.
I’m afraid I have nothing for you on this one…I dont read books….I do however read magazines…and I can pronounce everything in articles…most of the time. I would probably not stop to look it up….most likely pretend I’m smart and keep reading…
I just make up the definition and keep going. On that same note, my husband is a wiz at vocabulary and likes to use big words. Nowadays, I just keep listening to him and pretend like I know everything he just said. A couple of weeks ago, he stopped me and asked me if I had heard him use that really long word because he had been waiting for a chance to use it all week! He’s just that smart, and sometimes I have to roll my eyes:)
I would definitely have to look them up! I need to know what words mean. When I watched Spellbound and Akeelah and the Bee, I learned new words, then, too. I love learning new words.
I already knew what somnambulate, sybaritic, and exopthalmic meant!
If I can not figure it out from surrounding text, I will stop and look it up. I like your words today… I love to broaden my vocabulary 🙂
For awhile there, I was a COMPLETE dork and kept a notebook and a pocket electronic dictionary by the book I was currently reading for words I didn’t know. That lasted about a month though. I should probably start doing it again. As much as I read, I should have a MUCH larger vocabulary. I usually just try and figure it out…or just skip over it.
When I come across a word I’m not familiar with I immediately grab the dictionary. I’m a complete word addict and I love learning new ones. This is a pretty interesting list of words. I did know some of them but not all of them.
I know just what you mean! I have a Yahoo bookclub and one of the things we do on occasion (if we have a book that actually has words that aren’t common) is post the definitions so we can all expand our vocabulary!
My Dad is exactly the same way. We were just talking about it not long ago. He keeps a small notepad by his reading chair and writes the words down and looks them up later.
The 4 that you listed are good words! I didn’t know the last 2. (The only reason I know the first two is because I work as a medical transcriptionist and they are medical words! lol)
Sherry
Great question!
I usually will figure out (okay, guess) what a word means, by the way it’s used and the context surrounding it. If I can’t be pretty sure what it means, I’ll ask Philip if he’s nearby—he’s got a huge vocabulary. If he’s not around or doesn’t know, I’ll definitely look it up. I have to know.
Have you ever read Jane Eyre? Not only is it a wonderful love story with a riveting mystery attached to the plot, it is a vocabulary-builder! There were so many unfamiliar words that I kept a dictionary out while I read it. It’s kind of hard to read because it’s so old and English was so much different then, but it’s worth the effort because it’s the most romantic and heart-rending novel I’ve ever read. Just thought I’d throw in yet another book to put on your list! 😉
It really depends on whether I can discern the meaning from the rest of the sentence, paragraph, etc. If I can’t, I will look it up. Who knows, it might just mean something in the overall context of the book rather than the author just showing off. 😉
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