It's been a long time since I participated in Wondrous Words Wednesday, but I read something last night that I thought this group would enjoy.
Hamilton: The Revolution includes the complete libretto of the musical Hamilton with annotations by Lin-Manuel Miranda. We're at the point in the plot where Alexander Hamilton finally gets to command troops during the Revolutionary War. Lafayette is arguing his case to General Washington.
Lafayette: Sir, he knows what to do in a trench.
Ingenuitive and fluent in French....
Miranda wrote this annotation for the word ingenuitive:
This is a weird one. I thought everyone knew this word, yet I don't know where I've heard it. You should have seen the looks on the faces of my collaborators when I brought the song in. It's apparently a super-archaic word. I really don't know where I met it, but it was there for me when I needed it. (p. 118)
Of course, it's fairly obvious what it means, which is why it works - possessing ingenuity. Maybe Lin-Manuel Miranda can single-handedly bring the word ingenuitive back to life.
Do you use any words that others don't seem to know? More than once, I've received funny looks when I use the word spell to mean take over a task to give someone a break.
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books