I'm alternating between F. Scott Fitzgerald, Etgar Keret and Angela Carter currently.
Hopefully some A L Kennedy when my sister digs out her copy and places it into my word-hungry mitts.
I read at least once a day.
It feels essential.
As if my brain will panic if it can't escape into someone else's story for a few hours.
Nobody likes panic-stricken grey matter.
And last night was Angela Carter's turn to soothe the nervy beast.
Whilst reading her short, The Kiss, i came across a word that i needed to know the definition of immediately.
This happens a lot.
I like the Dictionary.
The word in question is
Ensorcellate
Now, this word doesn't exist.
Ensorcell and ensorcelled do but not ensorcellate.
It would seem that it's a derivative of its origins, meaning to enchant or fascinate, which Angela Carter conjugated to fit her narrative.
Thus, a new word is born.
But it's not in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Which is the Boss of all words collected and defined in one place.
This led me to question how and why a word earns its place in the OED.
Cue my eldest sister.
The English graduate.
Twice over.
Smart cookie.
She's kind enough to answer my many and persistent questions as i fumble my way through the labyrinthine task that is understanding the English language.
So, she pointed me in the direction of this:
It's all rather complicated and takes a significant amount of time for a word to achieve legitimacy but i think it's really rather fascinating.
Because Carter just happened to require a new version of this word, it has the potential to filter its way into everyday use.
That's pretty neat.
Knowledge of the day, achieved!
Now for a song.
6 days and counting.
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