Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Nugatory and Prescient

Hi All!

As I deal with all of the little stresses in my life, I have picked up a book to read - of course. This one is more of a non-fiction read about the founders of the United States. It is very informative and interesting reading but . . . I just wonder about the vocabulary sometimes.

Nugatory and prescient appear within a paragraph of each other. Say what? Do YOU know what these words mean????

Now, many people have said that I am fairly intelligent but I have no clue. Okay, to be honest, I DID have a clue about prescient but wasn't sure about its meaning. I dug out my good old electronic dictionary (present from Hubby for Christmas!) and looked up the words.

Nugatory: inconsequential, worthless

Prescient: showing foreknowledge of events

Hmmmmm. Cool words - especially nugatory. I mean, say it out loud. It is fun to say! What a good way to tell that annoying person at work just what you think of him/her. "You are just nugatory!"

Okay - my point. I love finding new words since I am sort of a geek that way but . . . do these people just write big words to prove how smart they are? Honestly, how many people are going to look up the meanings? Do the authors assume that the people reading the book will know what these words mean? Do most people already know what the words mean and I am just FAR behind the curve?

Just something to think about. Oh - by the way, the word nugatory was used in a 1790 statement from the state of Virginia regarding the choice of the site on the Potomac River for the new national Capital. Maybe people were just smarter back then!

Update time! My parents and my uncle are arriving this evening to visit the Texas/Oklahoma branches of the family tree. My niece has a dance recital this weekend and of course Grandma and Grandpa HAVE to be there!

I still have some cleaning to do around the house before the arrival of the parents. Doesn't that sound like fun? I also plan on going to the Deaf Action Center for a visit and then hitting Kohl's to see if I can use some Kohl's Cash which expires today. Maybe I will find some neat shoes!

Finals are racing towards me . . . Hopefully I will be ready for them! Last night at classes I had to leave early due to some stomach "issues." My last class of the day was cancelled so that was good but I had to leave early from my second class because my stomach sounded like it was going to explode. Actually, it sort of felt like it might too!

I got home just in time to head to the bathroom where I was ensconced for most of the evening. Fun, fun! I am feeling better today but think I may limit my food intake a bit until I am absolutely sure!

Life is just so full of interesting things, isn't it?

Trisha

Voice Update: Still doing pretty well. I did some covert massage during ASL presentations but need to do a bunch more since my neck and shoulders are a bit tense right now.

6 comments:

Mental P Mama said...

I think nugatory may be my new favorite word;)

Flea said...

All I can think is Ted Nugent when I see Nugatory. It must be something he'd do with a guitar, right?

Have fun with your family!

noble pig said...

I love when I learn something new.

Anonymous said...

I love that you're a word geek! Good luck finding shoes today!

imbeingheldhostage said...

educated AND entertained, thank you :-) Now let's see if I can use either of those words in conversation today....


Good luck with finals!!

Anonymous said...

i have same this topic..
please read Nugatory - nugatory definition | dictionary | nouns | online dictionary | websters dictionary