Unlike the last few days, today I chose a word that could describe something that had a lot of meaning to me. Upon my arrival in Korea back at the very end of December of last year, I came home to a beautiful orchid that was in full bloom sitting on my dining table facing the morning sun that was shining through our South-facing window.
It blew me away, but it also made me sad. I had to leave all of my lovely plants behind in the States, but I knew I would get those plants back one day as long as the caregiver I placed them under continued to pay heed to them. But any living plants here I know I will eventually have to say goodbye to forever. So, I made a plan to never buy living plants while in Korea for that reason.
Today, I have broken that plan and purchased a pulchritudinous flowering succulent called the kalanchoe 'tessa' succulent. And it made me want to show it off in one way or another. What better way to show off my new flower than to make today's WotD a way of describing it?
Pulchritude | pʌl.krə.tuːd: noun: beauty, especially a woman's beauty
The downward-facing flowers are like little firelights, and I keep thinking they're just going to start dancing like tiny flames stretched out on the little green branches. Every part of the plant is soft and delicate, yet strong and hardy. I just couldn't say no!
Bringing that soft beauty back over to our word of the day, I found the brief history mentioned by the website for Merriam-Webster Dictionary to be intriguing and comely in and of itself. This is a word that has been used for just about six hundred years! If that's not enough to account for its strength and natural beauty, I'm not sure what is.
Pulchritude | pəl-krə-ˌtüd: noun: physical comeliness
Luckily for me, one of my books has used this particular word, meaning I still have a lovely example in fictional novels to use. This one, like ethereal, is from the book, Dragon Thief.
Could he talk the fiendish owner of that sublime pulchritude out of supping on his entrails? He was rather attached to what usually resided inside of his hide.
-Dragon Thief by Marc Secchia
It is such an alluring word, and I am most excited to use this in the future. It makes me wonder what other words there are for beauty. Got any good ones? Let me know about them! Until then, happy reading!
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