words of the week

more words i like. (!) …they’ve all come up this week in some way.

apocryphal — of doubtful authenticity; spurious [another good word]; of, or pertaining to, the Apocrypha (from Greek word meaning “those having been hidden away”)

commensurate — equal in extent; corresponding in size/amount

inexorable — not to be persuaded or stopped; relentless;

intimation — hint; implication

polysemy — (from the Greek for “multiple meaning”) diversity of meanings; from Wikipedia: “The difference between homonyms and polysemes is subtle. Lexicographers define polysemes within a single dictionary lemma, numbering different meanings, while homonyms are treated in separate lemmata.”

ratiocination — the process of reasoning

untenable — not able to be defended

as in:

Despite all of her powers of ratiocination, her argument was untenable due to the apocryphal nature of her sources and the polysemy of their word choices. Her detractors were inexorable and, with an intimation about her waning powers of logic, launched a campaign commensurate with Sherman‘s to prove once and for all that moles, even those of the Talpidae family in the order Soricomorpha, are not “people too.”