{"id":4683,"date":"2019-08-07T03:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T21:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/?p=4683"},"modified":"2019-08-08T11:05:05","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T05:35:05","slug":"thats-the-word-for-it-plangent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/07\/thats-the-word-for-it-plangent\/","title":{"rendered":"That’s the Word For it: Plangent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The etymology of the word plangent<\/strong> is fascinating. This word with mournful connotations takes its origin from the Latin plangere which translates as the lamentations of beating the breast. The word is used a great deal in describing music but can be used with a sigh to talk about calamitous political situations and emotional dramas.<\/p>\n

Here are some literary instances of the word:<\/p>\n

\u201cSarcasm and jokes were often the bottle in which clinical depressives sent out their most plangent<\/strong> screams for someone to care and help them.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0David Foster Wallace,\u00a0<\/span>Infinite Jest<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTo this waltz, born in a distant, snowbound country out of longing for just such a flower-scented summer night as this, Rupert and Anna dance. They were under no illusions. The glittering chandeliers, the gold mirrors with their draped acanthus leaves, the plangent<\/strong> violins might be the stuff of romance, but this was no romance. It was a moment in a lifeboat before it sank beneath the waves; a walk across the sunlit courtyard towards the firing squad. This waltz was all they had.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0Eva Ibbotson,\u00a0<\/span>A Countess Below Stairs<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The etymology of the word plangent is fascinating. This word with mournful connotations takes its origin from the Latin plangere which translates as the lamentations of beating the breast. The word is used a great deal in describing music but can be used with a sigh to talk about calamitous political situations and emotional dramas. … Continue reading “That’s the Word For it: Plangent”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[251],"tags":[307,306],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7vAZr-1dx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4886,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/13\/thats-the-word-for-it-apricity\/","url_meta":{"origin":4683,"position":0},"title":"That's the Word for It: Apricity","date":"February 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Apricity is a word that the Pothi.com team stumbled upon on Twitter. It's a rare word, having appeared in 1623 when Henry Cockeram recorded or invented it it for his dictionary. The word never really took off. Here are some instances of this word used in literature: Apricity (n.) the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/apricity.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4882,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2020\/02\/05\/thats-the-word-for-it-braggadocio\/","url_meta":{"origin":4683,"position":1},"title":"That's the Word for It: Braggadocio","date":"February 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This flamboyant word was first used by the poet Edmund Spencer in the poem Faerie Queene. The word seems to be making a comeback in political circles. Even President Donald Trump attempted to use the word- \"I wrote the Art of the Deal. I say that not in a braggadocious\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/braggadocio.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4567,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/10\/thats-the-word-for-it-contronym\/","url_meta":{"origin":4683,"position":2},"title":"That\u2019s the Word For It: Contronym","date":"May 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever thought about why fast means quick\u00a0and at the same time means to immobilize? When a word or phrase means its opposite as well, it is called a contronym. Slang employs this kind of inversion of meaning, take for instance the word \u2018sick\u2019 or \u2018wicked\u2019 now used to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/instascribe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/contronym.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4699,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/14\/thats-the-word-for-it-profluent\/","url_meta":{"origin":4683,"position":3},"title":"That's the Word For it: Profluent","date":"August 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This word has Middle English and Latin roots and has to do with flow. You could use the word to describe music or a piece of writing. Here's an example of how the word can be used. \"A few years later, when I learned that Jayne Anne founded the MFA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "That's the word for it"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/pothi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/profluent.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4726,"url":"https:\/\/pothi.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/04\/thats-the-word-for-it-fugacious\/","url_meta":{"origin":4683,"position":4},"title":"That's the Word For It: Fugacious","date":"September 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The word fugacious deals with emotions and interestingly also to the idea of withering leaves in botany.\u00a0 Fugacious\u00a0derives from the Latin verb\u00a0fugere or flee. \u00a0Some derivative words include fugitive, refuge, and subterfuge. A beautiful word to use in literature: \u201cLove is a fugacious word. 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