Day 2: Ambiance

The more I look at this word, the more I think it is very narrow in usage. One can use it only to describe an atmosphere or feel in a location, like a restaurant. I looked at pages of quotes using the word, and they struck me as very shallow and superficial. Almost like people trying to make something feel like what it is not by changing the ambiance, improving the ambiance, and adding to the ambiance. It has a very "Babylon"-like feel, reeking of excess.

I'm not sure I like this word...tell me what you think.

Word of the week: Ambience (variant: Ambiance)

\ˈam-bē-ən(t)s, ˈäm-bē-än(t)s\
Function: noun
Etymology: French ambiance, from ambiant ambient
Date: 1889
: a feeling or mood associated with a particular place, person, or thing
Use this instead of the word "atmosphere" when describing.

While it may be a form of "ambient", be careful in assuming the meanings are the same. Ambient is "encompassing" or "on all sides". While you can see the similarity, these words would not be interchangeable depending on the usage of speech. "Ambiance" is a feeling, a mood. "Ambient" is a descriptive term for a noun, as in "ambient music" or ambient lighting".

It would seem this is a two-for-one word week, so use both "ambiance" and "ambient" this week, impressing your friends and co-workers.

Pronunciation

I wonder...do you put the emphasis on the "for" or on the "mid"? Both are correct.

It's that whole "toMAto" / "toMAHto" thing.

I put the emphasis on the "mid" because not everyone does it, and it makes me different.

I like different. :)

Word of the Week: formidable

Pronunciation: \ˈfȯr-mə-də-bəl; fȯr-ˈmi-, fər-ˈmi-\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin formidabilis, from formidare to fear, from formido terror, bogey; akin to Greek mormō bogey

Date: 15th century


1 : causing fear, dread, or apprehension
2 : having qualities that discourage approach or attack
3 : tending to inspire awe or wonder

"Many things are formidable, and none more formidable than man."
-Sophocles
Antigone, 332^3

"Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer."
- Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832)

"I have chosen to accept the formidable challenge of submitting a post on That's Uncanny."
- Dana Smalley

Carmen continues to convalesce.

Alliteration! But that's another subject for another time.

I looked up pictures associated with "convalesce" and found these two creepy, albeit appropriate, drawings. I don't feel quite this ... ill ... but I do continue to get better daily. It's a slow and steady process, which makes "convalesce" the perfect description.

Have a great Labor Day!

Hey, Dana! This is for you!

Albeit - Day 2

"Life is an ordeal, albeit an exciting one, but I wouldn't trade it for the good old days of poverty and obscurity. " Jim Carrey

"Albeit" is an excellent word very rarely used these days. I think that may be because it's a bit more formal than the usual "although", albeit I may be wrong. While it is not completely out of the lexicon, it threatens to be at the persistent desire of everyone to be a bit more familiar with one another, especially in conversation.

If albeit were a picture, I would say it's more of a boundary, like a fence, where you have to turn deliberately this way or that. It's a hard stop to a point, acquiescing a sub-point. Conversation is very much a journey, winding through thought and understanding. One needs a fence at times to stay on the path. The word of the week provides a perfect guide for your verbal excursions. It's a rich, descriptive word, albeit underused.