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;Continue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Whelm”
Tag Archives: literature
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
Ancient word of the day: Venation
These delicate patterns are most visible in autumn as decay befalls the forest floor and the wind crumbles away the leaf litter leaving behind the frail leaf filigree, a ghost echo of summer’s full flush.
Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus
Origin: 1650s. Cumulus ” a heap, pile, mass, surplus ” in Latin *keue “to swell” in Latin. Cirrocumulus are flocks of fleecy clouds that whisk past us on a glorious spring day. Often their appearance in the evening foretells of a stormy morning the following day. At least thats old shepherd’s wisdom. German Schäfchenwolken: LittleContinue reading “Ancient word of the day: Cirrocumulus”
Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland
Poland in the summer is filled with enveloping sunlight, as bright and life affirming as a hug. Vibrant life, bees and flies take a circuitous route through fields of barley, poppies and wheat in the countryside. The air filled with drifting dandelion and pollen. A cacophany of bird song fills the countryside accompanied by aContinue reading “Celestial ceilings and soaring skies in Poland”
Book Review: His Bloody Project by Graeme MacRae Burnet
His Bloody Project by author Graeme Macrae Burnet recounts the story of the triple murder and subsequent trial of accused 17 year old crofter Roderick McRae, who brutally slays three people in his remote village in 1896. Roderick lives with his family in a tiny croft on a property and land owned by the laird. HisContinue reading “Book Review: His Bloody Project by Graeme MacRae Burnet”
Ancient word of the day: Augury
According to the Romans, every sound and motion the bird made had a different meaning according to different circumstances, times of the year and other factors.
Opening Pandora’s Box: Phrases Borrowed from the Classics and the Stories Behind Them by Ferdie Addis
If you are in love with language, storytelling, folklore or classical history then you will love this book. It’s short at only 162 pages. However Opening Pandora’s Box punches well above its weight in terms of quality with many amusing and shocking stories from classical history to enjoy.
Book Review: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
Peter and Beatrice Leigh are a childless 30-something British couple who are devoutly evangelical Christians and are living in a Britain of an imagined near future. In this imaginary Britain things look largely similar to how they are right now, except that there’s a colony of humans living on a faraway planet called Oasis. TheseContinue reading “Book Review: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber”
Book Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
* Contains no spoilers 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 This is a book to devour in enormous gulps. When you do come up for air, fill yourself with black tea and then settle back into your armchair, to be borne aloft once more. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is a bittersweet and melancholy tale of a woman named AgnesContinue reading “Book Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent”
