Although similar to the gloaming, grimmelings is a slightly different natural phenomenon at both ends of the rotating sun's traverse across the sky. Grimmelings - The first or last gleams of the day (Scots, esp. Orkney). From the Norwegian "grimla", to glimmer before the eyes, to twinkle or blink. Also "grimlins". Or “the harlot’s hour”:…
Ancient Word of the Day
The quirky meander through the origins of language in the Polish calendar
With a few exceptions that are Latin, the Polish month names of the year take more from the Pagan world of seasonal changes, rather than from the Latin calendar that we all know and use in English. What's even more interesting is that even though Poland is historically a Catholic country, they chose to distance…
Continue reading ➞ The quirky meander through the origins of language in the Polish calendar
Hibernal From Latin hībernālis (“wintry”), from hiems (“winter”), hibernal is term for something that refers to winter. On this, the long, long night of Winter Solistice of the southern hemisphere, the dawns and the gloamings grow ever deeper and more thickly velveteen black. Although this point in time marks the darkest, longest night and from this kernel grows the essence of…
Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar
Glamour is an 18th Century corruption of the word grammar. Or the occult processes that were traditionally associated with learning during the middle ages. The words grammar and glamour are also associated with the word grimoire - a spell-book. Glamourie: witchcraft, magic, fascination or a spell Glaumerify: to cast a spell over or bewich Glamour-bead:…
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Ancient Word of the Day: Rema
Rema (Shetland Scots) The mirror-calm surface of the sea on a calm day. A body of water with a surface as smooth as cream. Comes from the Scots word "reyme", meaning "cream"). Rjómalogn (Icelandic) Cream-calm, used to denote profoundly tranquil weather or sea. Arafin (Welsh) Calm or slow weather in Welsh. blikkstille./ blekkstille (Norwegian) A…
Ancient word of the day: Tsundoku
The Japanese word, “Tsundoku", which literally means "reading pile", dates back all the way to the Meiji era (1868-1912). It's a unique word for which there is no English equivalent. If you're an avid reader though, you will well understand that feeling...it's pure happiness, the feeling of knowing that you have many more books ready…
Jisei: Haunting Japanese death poems from history
Japan has a long history of jisei, or death poems. Jisei is the “farewell poem to life.” These poems were written by literate people, often monks, royalty or courtiers just before their death. A Jisei from Prince Otsu in 686 BC is one of the earliest recorded death poems. Not all death poems are written…
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Ancient Word of the Day: Whelm
Whelm originates from Old English and it means to overturn or capsize a hollow vessel (a boat, a heart); to bury by wave, flood, storm, avalanche. The etymology is from the Old English hwelfan, to 'upheave'. This explains the modern use of "overwhelmed" and "underwhelmed". No voice divine the storm allay'd, No light propitious shone;…
Ancient word of the day: Dægeseage
The ancient word of the day is Dægeseage. This is an old English word for daisy. The origin of Dægeseage is literally daisy or day's eye. Which makes sense when you think about the quaint little flower and its tendency to follow the arc of the sun through the sky from dawn to dusk, soaking in as much light and goodness as possible.
Ancient word of the day: Uncanny
The ancient word of the day is Uncanny. This is the feeling of encountering a landscape, person or object that is both frightening and unsettlingly dissonant. Freud coined a similar word for this “unheimlich”— which is to say, eerie and both homely and unhomely. I'm sure you would be able to recall some uncanny encounters,…
Ancient word of the day: Bóithrín
The word bóithrín comes from small (ín) Cow (bó) path. This is a path can either be man-made or created by cow meandering. Bóthar for road and botharín for small road - in the diminutive form. This became boreen or bohereen in Hiberno-English.
Ancient word of the day: Landschapspijn
Landschapspijn comes from Dutch and translates to “landscape-pain”, “place-pain” (Dutch). This is a word with no real equivalent in English.
Ancient word of the day: Nekyia
"The Nekyia is no aimless or destructive fall into the abyss, but a meaningful katabasis ... its object the restoration of the whole man. Carl Jung
The ancient and elusive fairisle of Hy Brasil
Hy Brasil is a mysterious phantom island that was thought to exist off the west coast of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean for hundreds of years. The area being nautically challenging for seafarers, it was an elusive and mysterious place, hailed in pre-Christian times as being the Celtic Elysium or land of promise. During Christian…
Continue reading ➞ The ancient and elusive fairisle of Hy Brasil
Ancient word of the day: Nemophilist
Nemophilist - a haunter of the woods, one who loves the forest for its beauty and solitude.
Ancient Word of the Day: Brumation
A word coined in 1965 by American Zoologist Wilbur W. Mayhew. Brumation denotes a state of torpor and sluggishness brought on by winter. Mayhew used the word to describe the cold-weather dormancy of reptiles. Brumation is also a term commonly used in Biology to describe the dormant period for reptiles. As with hibernation in mammals,…
Eight words in Polish that have no English equivalent
You may have noticed that I'm on a bit of a Polish love-spree right now. If you're still here and reading about it, that means you haven't tired of my meanderings into everything to do with Polish culture, food and art. Because of the PB I've decided to learn the language. After all, the PB…
Continue reading ➞ Eight words in Polish that have no English equivalent