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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Teh Internets Logolistia

Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 12:13 PM

57de/1233253236-text_and_quotes_59.gif Here is a list of the 100 most beautiful words in the English Language.

Allegedly. I think I have very different ideas about beauty than the person who compiled this list. Take these two:

45 halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
46 hymeneal Having to do with a wedding.

Halcyon never sounds right coming out of an American's mouth. It sounds like a mistake. And no word with "-eneal" at the end is truly beautiful, especially not with the atrocious "hymen" stapled to the front of it.

I do like "lagoon" and "lilt." But, c'mon:

12 cockle A heart-shaped bivalve or a garden flower.

"Cockle" is not a beautiful word at all, although I'm pleased to finally learn the definition of "cockles of my heart."

Comments (24) RSS

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The letter "l" cannot appear in any word considered "beautiful" because it is the most hideous sound in the English language.

Posted by Simac on January 29, 2009 at 12:20 PM

I doth protest, sir! I happen to think that "cockle" is a lovely word.

Posted by cockle on January 29, 2009 at 12:27 PM

I doth protest, sir. I think that "cockle" is a lovely word.

Posted by cockle on January 29, 2009 at 12:28 PM

OK so tell us just what does "warming the cockles of your heart" mean? (Hint: it has nothing to do with what you have listed, Paul)

Posted by hartiepie on January 29, 2009 at 12:29 PM

That's great, there's nothing like hot cockles.

Posted by N on January 29, 2009 at 12:33 PM

Ugh, it reads like a clearinghouse of jam-band song titles.

Posted by Dougsf on January 29, 2009 at 12:34 PM

This list does not have "cellophane" on it.

This list = epic fail.

Posted by pg on January 29, 2009 at 12:34 PM

This is a very siily list. #1 Adroit-doesn't exactly conjure beauty ofr feel smooth on the tongue. several years ago "Smithsonian Magazine" ran a poll for most beautiful word and"mellifluous" won. The most beautiful phrase has long been thought to be "cellar door",, not for what it is but how it sounds.

Posted by Inkweary on January 29, 2009 at 12:38 PM

lilt is the only word you cite that I would consider beautiful. The list has some weird ones on it (Hymeneal? ebullient?) but also some pretty ones -- diaphanous, dulcet, ethereal.

@1 - I disagree about "l".. I feel that way about "g" words though...

Posted by Julie in Eugene on January 29, 2009 at 1:00 PM

I still think "President Obama" is one of the most beautiful words I've heard in a long time. And it translates so well into other languages!

Posted by Gurldoggie on January 29, 2009 at 1:02 PM

Interesting how many of these words are derived from directly from latin and/or french. I would add "prairie" to the list.

Posted by Pope Urbane on January 29, 2009 at 1:15 PM

I like the visual appeal of "halcyon" at least.

Posted by Abby on January 29, 2009 at 1:19 PM

I like "diaphanous".

Posted by Vince on January 29, 2009 at 1:21 PM

I've always really liked the word "trepan".

Posted by Dougsf on January 29, 2009 at 1:34 PM

"Labyrinth" does it for me every time.

Posted by you remind me of the babe on January 29, 2009 at 1:37 PM

You can't go wrong with fistula. Both in sound and meaning it is pure beauty

Posted by Jack the ripper had one on January 29, 2009 at 1:40 PM

"Molten" for me. And "incendiary".

Posted by bookworm on January 29, 2009 at 1:52 PM

How about scrumpdelicious?

Posted by Yo, Dre! on January 29, 2009 at 2:04 PM

My favorite word has always been onomatopoeia. I love the way it sounds, what it means, and that it makes you think of other fun words like "splash" "zip" "clang" and "pow".

Posted by Cori on January 29, 2009 at 2:22 PM

What, no "diarrhea" on the list, that is number one.

Posted by omgjack on January 29, 2009 at 3:03 PM

Whoever made this list was not a poet, or at least, not a very good poet. Petrichor, potamophilous, tintinnabulation, I guess I could go on, but I would guess most people don't find those words beautiful along with many others on the list. Most of those words are latin(some by way of french) and greek words that just sound fancy but have less resonance in our English tongue. Words that come from german, old-english, and the like have much more emotional power in our language. This list was compounded by a pretentious, sesquipedalian worshiping bore. I want words with heart.

Posted by save english from latin on January 29, 2009 at 4:05 PM

"Parallelogram"

Posted by ak47 on January 29, 2009 at 6:55 PM

My husband says "halcyon" quite frequently and I think it sounds beautiful coming out of his mouth. I do not think there are the most beautiful words in the English language - what about "zither" and "reptilian"? Or "lute".

Posted by Yasmine on January 30, 2009 at 1:58 PM

There was an Indigo-Girls-like band in Tampa called Halcyon. EVERYONE pronounced it Hallycon.

Posted by missymiss on January 30, 2009 at 11:12 PM