Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Wednesday Word: Propinquity

propinquity |prəˈpiNGkwətēnounthe state of being close to someone or something; proximity: he kept his distance as though afraid propinquity might lead him into temptation.technical close kinship.ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French propinquité, from Latin propinquitas, from propinquus near, from prope near to.
I acquired this word curtesy of P.G. Wodehouse. Propinquity, desired and otherwise, is a major theme of his books. And pigs.

Characters in British books have such great names. Like Gussy Fink-Nottle. American books suffer from a shortage of Fink-Nottles and the like. Somebody much more assiduous than me could do a scholarly research about the relationship between national character and naming of fictional characters. I've often wondered how Terry Pratchett named the denizens of Discworld.

2 comments:

  1. It's a word I've seen before, but I never knew its precise definition until now.

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    Replies
    1. I hadn't a clue this word existed until two days ago.

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