Wondrous Words Wednesday
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky!
My first word this week comes from Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt.
1. fillip – “A fillip of red dress.”
From the context of the paragraph, I assumed fillip meant glimpse, but I looked it up to be sure. I found several definitions for it and I’m not sure exactly which one the author intended. My best guess is “a significant and often unexpected development”, but I think “something tending to arouse or excite” might work as well. If you’ve read the book, what do you think?
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My next word comes from my own blog and my interview of Ilie Ruby!
2. synesthete – “I grew up writing and painting, but I am also a bit of a synesthete.”
I found the definition in my dictionary a little confusing, so I turned to wikipedia for a better explanation:
Synesthesia is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes.
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My final word this week comes from Burning Bright by Ron Rash.
3. fantod– “You shouldn’t get the fantods over this.”
Fantods means fidgets.
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Have you come across any new words lately?
Bermudaonion's Weblog 
About synesthete, Vladimir Nabokov (author of the infamous Lolita) was one. He writes about it in his memoir Speak, Memory. He “saw” the number 5 as red.
Thank you ! With this exemple I understand well the word !
There are a few middle grade books that have characters who are synthetes! Wendy Mass wrote one!
Fillip and fantod are such original words, and I would have never come across them if I hadn’t stopped here this morning!
Synesthete is nice, and the only one of the three I already knew. Interesting choice!
From the context I would say the definition that is “anything intended to arouse.” Still, in my experience, the arousal means like to snap you to attention (a fillip being a snap) but I suppose a red dress might work. Think of Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys. If the scene of her in the red dress singing on the piano didn’t wake you up, I don’t know what would! :–)
hmmm trying to figure out which word I like best… I really like rhapsody in books’ reference to Pfeiffer in that movie. Hmmmm singing tune of “Lady in Red” now….
PS Damon Salvatore is the evil bad ass vampire from Vampire Diaries. Google him and see the resemblance to the rake on the cover of book. Yes Damon is my fantasy… going to ask hubby to see if his doctor can surgically implant that face to his. 😉
How great to be finding words on your own blog! I knew synaesthete, and have heard fillip, but wouldn’t have been able to guess the meaning. And fantod, well, that’s just fabulous. My son is watching a lot of Dr Who at the moment, and the fantod could easily be an alien race trying to take over the world. “You shouldn’t get The Fantods over this.” See it’s all in the capitals…..
I love fillip and fantod and wish I could use them more in sentences. After your description I remembered synesthete but I first sight I didn’t. Great words. Here are mine:
http://marthalama.wordpress.com/
When I see wondrous words in your blogs I have often to :
1) search the word in my English-French dictionnary,
2) search the word in my French dictionnary.
Hard but fine work !
This whole post and your words are quite interesting this week. I enjoyed the variety of comments as well as your post. Fantod is my favorite new word. It seems to fall right in to normal language.
Kathy, thank you for these three new-to-me words! 🙂
Fantods is the only word of your 3 that I’m familiar with. I think it’s a great way & whenever I read it it makes me laugh a bit (I don’t know why!)
Fillip is a cool word & I like the way Rhapsody explains it, sounds spot on – what is it about women in red dresses?!
Synesthete is my fave of your words today. It describes one of those amazing ways in which our minds work. I expect synesthetes are fortunate and very talented!
I posted some words:
Wednesday Words!
I need a little fillip. : )
here’s mine http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/wonderous-words-wednesday_09.html
Hi Kathy,
I like the word fantod, sounds so much better then fidget. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
I like fantods. I think I’m going to add that one to my vocabulary.
I think you are right about the first word — what else does a red dress do? 🙂
I’m getting the fantods over these words!! My spell checker doesn’t even know what that word is!! hehe
Natalie :0)
Love fantod! I don’t remember seeing that word, much less knowing what it meant. Lol.
I think this might be the first time I’ve actually heard of all your words! I’m not really a “synesthete,” but I do always see the number 12 as blue. Which is a little weird – sort of gives me the fantods.
Only knew to me words today :=)
I love your words…you always have such wonderful words.
THANKS.
What neat words, and oddly enough, someone mentioned synesthesia in conversation yesterday.
that’s got to be a first – finding a wondrous word on your own blog … and what an interesting word/concept it is!
I agree with you on ‘fillip’ … either definition would work in that passage. Fun word 🙂
I think of been guessing wrong what fillip means. I like the other two words, too!
Great words as usual! Sorry, I am running a little late today, okay?
love fantod!! so cute and will employ it. 🙂
Well, I barely made it before the end of Wednesday, but I have some great words this week – check them out!
I have always sort of wanted to have synesthesia – it sounds really, really cool.
I’m admiring your attention to detail. I read Pictures of You and didn’t catch “fillip.” I think when I get caught up in a good story it’s easier for me to miss a word here or there that I don’t know.
Fantod- I need to use this one!! 😀
I discovered synesthesia a little while ago too. It fascinates me that people can see the world that way. I’m even a bit jealous lol. That’s definitely my favourite word from your list. I didn’t have any this week unfortunately. Maybe next time.
Just found this meme through Just Books.
I’m familiar with fillip, but fantod and synesthete is new to me (although, apparently, I must have run across it, because I see one of the comments mentions Nabokov’s Speak Memory–of course I read that 25 years ago…so it probably fell out of my brain.). I’ve got mine up and linked.
Fantod is one I hadn’t heard before!
I ran into synesthete this week as well, but it was from a link one of my friends sent me on Facebook, not a book. I looked it up on Wikipedia and was surprised to see that the way I envision numbers (something I’ve described to many people throughout the years and no one has ever really understood) is something unique to synesthetes. Very cool!
I can’t imagine using the word fillip, not because it’s old, but because my uncle is named Philip. Even though it’s different spelling, I still think of it like that.