Research Says 'Mother' is the Most Beautiful English Word
The research carried out by the British Council among 40,000 people in over 100 different countries indicated that the most-liked English word was"mother".
Participants of the poll, held in 102 countries where English is not the native language, were asked to choose the most impressive one of 70 words. "It's interesting that mother, the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll," said British Council spokesman Greg Selby. Second was "passion", followed by "smile", "love" and "eternity".
Other words in the list were "sweetheart" (14th), banana (41st) and hiccup (63rd).
about 5 years ago I saw a similar study and it came up with diarrhea as the most beautiful English word. It actually sounds quite nice if you don't think about it's definition:
di·ar·rhe·a also di·ar·rhoe·a   ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (d-r)
n.
Excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces, usually indicating gastrointestinal distress or disorder.
Kai... I read the same article. Gonorrhea was 2nd.
gon·or·rhe·a
n.
A sexually transmitted disease caused by gonococcal bacteria that affects the mucous membrane chiefly of the genital and urinary tracts and is characterized by an acute purulent discharge and painful or difficult urination, though women often have no symptoms
As a non english-speaker I was intrigued about the meaning of "procrastinate" before I discovered what it meant and realized I was doing it all the time...
i'm still undecided how to translate "blob" into my language.. but i like how it sounds... (not sure if i like how it looks)
I've always found the expresion "stick to one's guns" very north-american... don't know why... must have something to do with Heston's NRA..
STICK TO YOUR GUNS/STAND TO YOUR GUNS - It's a military term.
"Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman. (Random House, New York, 1996) states: "Stick to your guns - hold to your convictions and rights. The proverb has been traced back to the 'Life of Samuel Johnson' by James Bobswell (1740-95). It was first attested in the United States in 'Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913) by Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933)."
The "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997) says the term may be military in origin and lists a mention of the term "as late as 1839, in a popular novel called 'Ten Thousand a Year' the words put in the mouth of a civilian named Mr. Titmouse."
"Fighting Words: From War, Rebellion, and Other Combative Capers" by Christine Ammer (NTC Publishing Group, Chicago, 1989) has the most detailed explanation, ". Less in doubt than managing to hit a target was a gunner's obligation to stay at his post, whence the British term 'stand to one's guns' (in America, 'stick to one's guns'), meaning to persist and not give way. James Boswell, Samuel Johnson's biographer, writes in 1769, 'Mrs. Thrale stood to her gun with great courage in defense of amorous ditties.' A more perplexing use of this phrase occurred in a 1909 account about the staunchly pacifist Society of Friends: 'The Quakers stood to their guns, and without any resort to brute force, finally won.'"
thanks instrumentOFaction, that has been very illustrative .. I knew what it means, but somehow it reminds me about the "gun culture" some northamericans are famous for... just thought it made sense... well, in a way...
oh, and I like the word "god" too (even being agnostic)
the most beautiful word in english.
Research Says 'Mother' is the Most Beautiful English Word
The research carried out by the British Council among 40,000 people in over 100 different countries indicated that the most-liked English word was"mother".
Participants of the poll, held in 102 countries where English is not the native language, were asked to choose the most impressive one of 70 words. "It's interesting that mother, the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll," said British Council spokesman Greg Selby. Second was "passion", followed by "smile", "love" and "eternity".
Other words in the list were "sweetheart" (14th), banana (41st) and hiccup (63rd).
beer
archinect
that makes me think,
'pimp'.
my first word was banana
money
rhubarb
sexy
about 5 years ago I saw a similar study and it came up with diarrhea as the most beautiful English word. It actually sounds quite nice if you don't think about it's definition:
di·ar·rhe·a also di·ar·rhoe·a   ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (d-r)
n.
Excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces, usually indicating gastrointestinal distress or disorder.
was beautiful excluded?
Kai... I read the same article. Gonorrhea was 2nd.
gon·or·rhe·a
n.
A sexually transmitted disease caused by gonococcal bacteria that affects the mucous membrane chiefly of the genital and urinary tracts and is characterized by an acute purulent discharge and painful or difficult urination, though women often have no symptoms
cellar door
that's two words einstien.
< always wanted to say that!
canwemakesuperlongwordsanddeeplymeaningfullsentences?
dorfmeister
cutlery
Strawbeary:
Rhubarb is cool, but you spelt it without the silent "Q"?
I like mother.
But I like it more when you pair it up!
It says a lot, when no other phrase will do.
Mother ****er
Oedipus and Freud would have a mother ****ing field day!
pulchritude would be the ugliest
somehow i know cellar door will be mentioned ... still can't figure out which linguist said that ... drew barrymore made that up ...
moist
procrastinate
As a non english-speaker I was intrigued about the meaning of "procrastinate" before I discovered what it meant and realized I was doing it all the time...
i'm still undecided how to translate "blob" into my language.. but i like how it sounds... (not sure if i like how it looks)
I've always found the expresion "stick to one's guns" very north-american... don't know why... must have something to do with Heston's NRA..
i've always liked sinusoidal
adj : having a succession of waves or curves
just because it sounds nice.
serendip
Medit:
STICK TO YOUR GUNS/STAND TO YOUR GUNS - It's a military term.
"Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman. (Random House, New York, 1996) states: "Stick to your guns - hold to your convictions and rights. The proverb has been traced back to the 'Life of Samuel Johnson' by James Bobswell (1740-95). It was first attested in the United States in 'Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913) by Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933)."
The "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997) says the term may be military in origin and lists a mention of the term "as late as 1839, in a popular novel called 'Ten Thousand a Year' the words put in the mouth of a civilian named Mr. Titmouse."
"Fighting Words: From War, Rebellion, and Other Combative Capers" by Christine Ammer (NTC Publishing Group, Chicago, 1989) has the most detailed explanation, ". Less in doubt than managing to hit a target was a gunner's obligation to stay at his post, whence the British term 'stand to one's guns' (in America, 'stick to one's guns'), meaning to persist and not give way. James Boswell, Samuel Johnson's biographer, writes in 1769, 'Mrs. Thrale stood to her gun with great courage in defense of amorous ditties.' A more perplexing use of this phrase occurred in a 1909 account about the staunchly pacifist Society of Friends: 'The Quakers stood to their guns, and without any resort to brute force, finally won.'"
baby
elbow.
Technically 'beautiful' might be said to be the most beautiful, but it may have been disqualified due to conflict of interest.
I like 'smooth'. And 'voodoo'. And 'beer'.
ocelot
callipygous
clitoris
I'm Sorry....
you'll got it wrong - most beautiful "architecture"
next to that jamaica!
JB wrote
"Strawbeary:
Rhubarb is cool, but you spelt it without the silent "Q"?"
I don't get it.
laziness
sepulcher
thanks instrumentOFaction, that has been very illustrative .. I knew what it means, but somehow it reminds me about the "gun culture" some northamericans are famous for... just thought it made sense... well, in a way...
oh, and I like the word "god" too (even being agnostic)
Cutlery IS pretty, anti.
But I'll vote for:
scupper
medit: something to chew on, please avoid the sweeping generalzations and media driven catch phrases: http://reason.com/0105/fe.ak.their.shtml
oh, and i think rhetoric is a particularly beautiful word.
Father. That is the most beautiful word I have in mind now.
Father. That is the most beautiful word I have in mind now.
jlx, are you about to become one?
Scropopyl
the teacher from the simpsons.....mmmm....
and 'macabre'
kyll - the teacher's name is ms. krabappel, as in "crab apple".
obscure reference to childhood memory of Spike Milligan (Maybe) Poetry.
Some guy with a name that has a silent Q "as in Ruhbarb"
google it?!
maelstrom
truculent
burrito
crestfallen
malevolent
effervesce
bingo!
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