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Jun
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Posted by Christopher Waldrop
June 14, 2008 |
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For any simple word there’s almost always a fancy one that could, in a pinch, or, especially in a game of Scrabble, replace it. Take, for instance, the word xeric. The Oxford English Dictionary defines this word as, “Having or characterized by a scanty amount of moisture.” In other words “xeric” means “dry”. It’s primarily an ecological or botanical term; there’s even xeriscaping, which is using plants suited to an extremely dry climate.
The letter X, the twenty-fourth in the Roman alphabet, is both one of our most overlooked and most useful letters. In the Greek and Cyrillic alphabets it’s typically pronounced as an aspirated K, while in English its phonology goes back and forth between “ecks” and, as in the case of xeric, “zee”. It’s used to shorten Christmas, or, in triplicate, designate everything from adult movies to moonshine. From Xanthan gum to xylophones, we all need a little X in our lives.
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