"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
Showing posts with label Swither. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swither. Show all posts

Monday, 1 July 2013

Swither


Swither is a verb of Scottish origin and means to hesitate; vacillate; to be perplexed.

As a noun it means hesitation; perplexity; agitation.

I love the idea of swithering - it sounds just like its meaning.  (I looked up whether there was a word to describe a word that sounds like what it means such as hesitate but there isn't.  Onomatopoeia is about the nearest but that refers specifically to words that represent the sound such as bang and buzz.)