I'm
always looking for ways to expand my vocabulary and this X Challenge
gave me a good reason to go looking for new words. I don't know a lot
of X words, apart from Xylophone, X-Ray and Xanadu. Xenon and
Xenophobic also are ensconced in my vocabulary. However, I wanted to
expand upon that, so I went to Collins Dictionary and did a little
excavating.
I
recently watched a silly show on Netflix. One of the characters was
named Xanthippe. I found it interesting to read that Xanthippe was
the name of Socrates' sharp tongued, spiteful, harping wife. They
writers had obviously chosen this name for a reason, because the
character was all of that and more.
I
discovered, in my explorations, that xylophagous is an adjective
pertaining to certain insects, crustaceans, etc feeding on or living
within wood. With xylo as the root of the word, I wasn't particularly
surprised to find that xylobalsamum is the name of the dried,
fragrant wood of the Balsamodendron gileadense that produces resin
known as Balm of Gilead. And just as logical that xoanon is the name
of a primitive image of a god, carved, especially originally, in
wood, and supposed to have fallen from heaven.
If
that weren't enough, the X-Factor, a noun (informal) an unknown or
unexplained element that makes something more interesting or
valuable, the excellent apogee of this exciting article, we come to
the last X entry in the Collins Dictionary. I didn't know that a
xyster is a surgical instrument for scraping bone; surgical rasp or
file. To be honest, I never thought about it having a name. I'm not
surprised such an instrument exists, as I'm sure it's extremely
important.
I
believe I've had enough of X today. Perhaps another time I'll be more
interested in extolling the excellent exigencies of X, but until then
I'll relax, enhance my Xi and plan my trip to Xochimilco noun a town
in central Mexico, on Lake Xochimilco: noted for its floating
gardens. Pop: 364 647 (2000).
©
Dellani Oakes 2015
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