Some words

As some of you know, I have a plethora of word books. There are alot of fascinating words out there, and fascinating stories even behind the not-so-fascinating words. I think that once a week or so I'll share some with you, just for fun.

From a page out of the 2007 American Heritage Dictionary Word-a-Day calendar comes the word plethora, which is a fun word to use. It can mean "a superabundance; an excess", but it can also specifically refer to an excess of blood in the circulatory system or in one organ or area." So if you hear that your aunt's illness is diagnosed as plethora, you know what that means.

Another word that refers to alot of something (this time something specific) is pleonasm. Pleonasm is "the use of more words than required to express an idea; redundancy", "an instance of [it]", or any "superfluous word or phrase." (One of the source words, pleonazein in Greek, means to be excessive, be-e-excessive.) I think my father taught me the meaning of this word through example. You may know or be a pleonast yourself.