[madameshawshank]

I've just read the following article and thought I'd share it with c 'n z...and at the same time I'm wondering what our favourite words are..golly let me think...I doooooooo like "cloudmilk"..there didn't seem to be a ban on compound words! any Scrabble addicts out there?

Mother is the most beautiful word in the English language, followed by passion, smile, love and eternity, according to a worldwide survey released today.

The British Council, the government agency that promotes British culture around the globe, quizzed more than 40,000 people in 102 non-English speaking countries on their favourite words.

Fantastic, destiny, freedom, liberty and tranquility filled out the top 10 ranking of most beautiful English words, out of a list of 70 words -- a number deliberately chosen to mark the British Council's 70th anniversary.

Others that made the grade included lollipop at number 42, flip-flop (59), hen night (70) and banana (41), along with twinkle (23), hiccup (63), hodgepodge (64), whoops (56) and oi (61).

"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.

Father didn't make the list at all.
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[madameshawshank]

Dears..the previous list was from folk from non-English speaking countries..or should that be from folk from countries where English isn't the mother tongue...

be that as it may, I've been a searchin' lists and have found this one...again, for the word lovers it might be of interest..

Wilfred Funk's list of the most beautiful words in English: ASPHODEL, FAWN, DAWN, CHALICE, ANEMONE, TRANQUIL, HUSH, GOLDEN, HALCYON, CAMELLIA, BOBOLINK, THRUSH, CHIMES, MURMURING, LULLABY, LUMINOUS, DAMASK, CERULEAN, MELODY, MARIGOLD, JONQUIL, ORIOLE, TENDRIL, MYRRH, MIGNONETTE, GOSSAMER, ALYSSEUM, MIST, OLEANDER, AMARYLLIS, ROSEMARY. [Alysseum may be a misspelling of alyssum, but this is how the word appears in Paul Dickson's Words.]
In the same poll, other American writers, poets, and critics responded with these selections: HOME (Lowell Thomas), CHATTANOOGA (Irvin S. Cobb), MELODY (Charles Swain Thomas), NOBILITY (Stephen D. Wise), VERMILLION (Lew Sarett), GRACIOUS (Bess Streeter Aldrich), PAVEMENT (Arnold Bennett), LOVELY (George Balch Nevin), HARBORS OF MEMORY (William McFee), and NEVERMORE (Elias Lieberman). Louis Untermeyer responded, "The most musical words seem to be those containing the letter 'l'. I think, offhand, of such words as VIOLET, LAKE, LAUGHTER, WILLOW, LOVELY, and other such limpid and liquid syllables" [Charles Turner].

According to James Joyce, CUSPIDOR is the most beautiful word in English [Dickson].

In A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (page 86), Annie Dillard writes: "My friend Rosanne Coggeshall, the poet, says that 'sycamore' is the most intrinsically beautiful word in English" [Sarah Gossett]. "

Ah...Pilgrim at Tinker Creek...now there's a book with beautiful words!
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[David]

my vote is for PUPPY!!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[Erin]

Lavender
Scarlett
Cashmere
Phil, my husband
Barney, my puppy
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[luxlis]

I have always thought that windowsill and hawthorne were lovely words.

[suki]

Although not everyone in the world is a foodie, chef, food addict or cook, it's interesting that there are no words related to cooking, food, the presentation, taste, smell, look of food and food-related items.
Not that I have any words, but I used to love the sound of 'drizzle of olive oil' a few years ago, until I found it in almost ever book and menu I read...

Any others?

[David]

SIZZLING BACON!!! now that is a beautiful pair of words, and one of the best smells in the world too!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[madameshawshank]

serendipity! get's me every time... and even typing the words "iced chocolate" beings on the "oh my oh my!" feeling. I'm sooooo glad chocolate made it first off the block in the blog title...imagine zucchini and chocolate!...nup ...always dessert first! When looking at a menu I always read the dessert section first...
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Corey]

See now this depends very much upon a central question that is not answered here.

Do you mean beautiful word as in asthetics, the sound or appearance of the word disassociated from any emotional contact of its meaning? If so then I would nominate Serendipity and Malignant .

Do you mean a word, that by its very meaning comes to symbolize a great human emotion or universal truth? If so then I nomenate Peace, and Love.

Do you mean a word that combined with its asthetics and emotional links proves to be endearing for many reasons? If so I nominate Kristin, for she has changed my life and taught me the meaning of all the other nice words out there.
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Whiped, Beaten, Denatured: Journey of an aspiring chef. http://denatured.greenkri.com

[Debbie]

There are so many words that have beautiful conotations.... but if you talk about a word that sounds like what it does or is, I think the most beautiful descriptive word would have to be "scoop" It sounds like what it is. When you scoop up a trowel full of sand it makes a "scoooop" sound. When you scoop up a cup of rice, lentils, sugar, etc etc it makes a "scooop" sound. That sound means the start of something new to me and that is always exciting, and quite often "a beautiful thing".
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[lee_loreya]

(words chosen for the mere sound of it, although the dishes mentionned are fine indeed)
"scalloped"
"butterbeer", "buttermilk"...
"gingerbread"
"eggplant"
"pecan pie"
"cinnamon"
"arugula"
"cilantro"
"lemon curd"

[Debbie]

You have some very nice words there. Scalloped is another one that sounds like it does. I also like the sound of cilantro, think that is coriander in Australia? This might be my word of the week! Cilantro.

Thank you for that one.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[lee_loreya]

Oh, I'm glad that you adopted that homeless little word for a week!
yes, cilantro is coriander, just like arugula=rocket salad (less poetic, however). and it has a really powerful scent and taste that I absolutely adore ( people tend to cherish basil or mint...never understood the craze around mint leaves...). It goes well with everything (that I've tried): stir fried veggies, roasted pork, hummus, to replace basil in pesto (in that case, use hazelnuts instead of pine nuts for the mix)...

[David]

Can yo not just hear the bells ringing when someone says tintinabulation? I always thought that word expresses it's meaning perfectly.
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[Allisa]

David, you beat me to it!!
The first word that came to me when I read the subject on the C&Z home page was: PUPPY.
Nothing looks better, feels better, makes me feel better, smells better and is more fun than a puppy.