Wondrous Words Wednesday

Published on by Margaret

Wondrous Words Wednesday, run by Kathy (Bermuda Onion),  is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.

This week I have just two words from The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which I haven’t finished yet.

Myxoedema:

‘You’ve considered epilepsy, I suppose?’  ‘It was my very first idea. I still think it may explain some of it. The aura, producing queer sensations – auditory, visual and so on. The seizure itself, the weariness after it; it all fits to a degree. But I can’t believe it’s the whole story.’

He said, ‘How about myxoedema?’

Myxoedema means a diseased condition due to deficiency of thyroid secretion, characterised by loss of hair, increased thickness and dryness of skin, increase in weight, slowing of mental processes and diminution of metabolism.

Paternoster:

Caroline said, ‘I hate this bit. It’s like having to hurl oneself on a paternoster lift.’

Paternoster lift is a lift for goods or passengers, consisting of a series of cars movin on a continuous belt, the floors remaining horizontalat the top and bottom of travel.

I don’t fancy that as I have enough difficulty getting onto an escalator.

6 thoughts on “Wondrous Words Wednesday”

  1. Margaret – Thank you for sharing those words : ). As a linguist, I’m always fascinated by words and how they’re used. It’s interesting, too, that paternoster is the first part of the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. The lifts were called that because they’re shaped like a loop and reminiscent of rosary beads.

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  4. I knew paternoster (and I think it is called the same in Danish), but not myxoedema (neither the English or the Danish word, myxoødem).

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  5. I just read “Tipping the Velvet” by Sarah Waters, and while there were a number of words with which I was not familiar, they were all x-rated! Actually, even the title! I’m glad she had some words in “The Little Stranger” that could pass the censor! :–)

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