Verbiculture

Verbiculture: the production of words.  Yep.  It’s really a word. From Latin verbum (word) and the Latin verb colo, colere, colui, cultus: to live in, inhabit; till, cultivate, promote growth. Verbiculture, which shows up in almost no dictionaries, was coined in...

Head’s up.

The Latin word caput means, head. When a Roman wanted to use the prepositional phrase, “of the head,” he would use the word capitis. Capitis is the “genitive” form of the word caput. I mention this for a simple reason. The genitive spelling of a Latin word often...

Natality

Natality: the birth rate. In philosophy, natality is human innovation. Natality is the human ability to create new ideas out of nothing. Natality comes from the French natalité, which derives from the Latin word natal. Natal means “birthday.” Since today...

Cognoscente

Cognoscente: Someone possessing superior knowledge in a particular field, usually the arts; a connoisseur, an aficionado, a discerning expert.  I get the feeling a “cognoscente” is likely a member of the Illuminati of the art world.  Or, based on modern art purchases,...

Connoisseur

Connoisseur: A person well versed in any subject; a skillful or knowing person; a critical judge or master of any art, particularly of painting and sculpture. From French connaisseur.  The French word derives from the verb connoître (acquainted, to know).  Father of...