Saturday, February 24, 2007

Hey...I Never Said I Was Perfect.


Scene: Hubby reading the newspaper at the dining room table. Wifey blogging in the office.

Hubby: Honey, you're the English expert here. What does the word 'nascent' mean?
Me: Nascent? How do you spell it? Like as in a-s-c-e-n-t?
Hubby: Yes. Only, it has an "n" in front of it.
Me: Are you sure? Maybe it's a type-o. It must be wrong. I've never heard of it before.
Hubby: Yeah. That's what I thought. I just thought you'd know since you're the English Major.
Me: Okay, let me Google it. (Wifey types 'nascent' into the search box)
Me: You've got to be kidding.
Hubby: What?
Me: Pronunciation: 'na-s&nt, 'nA-Function: adjective. Etymology: Latin nascent-, nascens, present participle of nasci to be born -- more at NATION: coming or having recently come into existence (a nascent middle class) (her nascent singing career).
Hubby: Wow.
Me: Yep. Years of tuition and textbook fees, countless English Lit and Linguistics courses...all put to good use. *sigh*

Today, I learned: A) English Majors don't know every single word in the English vocabulary (shhhh...don't tell my students!), B) Wifey is not always right (shhhh...don't tell my husband!), and C) I love Google.

PS. Who the heck uses 'nascent' anyway???

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Yeah. I should have known to think of Latin roots and derivatives! Suddenly everything makes sense. LOL!

Anonymous said...

I just love being the first commenter. Oh this time YOU'RE your first commenter! Do I seem like a groupie to you? Anyhow, I've never heard of the word before. There are so many words in the English language that aren't used often. Oh, and Hubby will never know you don't know everything! Your secret's safe with me!

Anonymous said...

I'm an English teacher. I'm English. I've never heard of the word before. Then again, I was always poor at Latin. You should have just said, "Nah. The word doesn't exist and left it at that." That's what I do. That way no one knows you're not perfect. {{{{{{{{LOL}}}}}}}}}}

So how far is Niagara Falls from your island?

caninecologne said...

i just recently saw that word too; it referred to a "nascent" volcanic island near iceland or something.

waz said...

everyday, we r learning new things!
i luv my google too!!! Google is GOD!!! next to Bob, of course! :D

Anonymous said...

I say we eliminate all the words that aren't used normally! LOL

Unknown said...

It appears blog entries that are too cerebral in nature don't get a lot of comments :) I noticed that 'poo' related posts and posts that deal with embarrassing personal hygiene (waxing) experiences get 20-something hits each! LOL!

Mister Scott said...

first off, i am a nerd. secondly, i have actually used that word with my seventh graders in describing an idea or thought that is in the early stages of development... "a nascent thought"
while in college, i was warned about telling people what i taught (English) at parties, as i may be putting myself in the position of spending the evening doing "tricks" like spelling and answering grammar queries... YIPPEE!

Unknown said...

LOL! Cast Away, you have nooooooo idea how happy that comment made me! My students call me the 'Grammar Queen', and constantly ask me questions about dangling modifiers, conditional clauses, parts of speech, prepositional phrases, etc. The sick part is that I am always happy to answer their queries! I live off this stuff! I'm a geek. Too bad about 'nascent' though! I feel defeated now! LOL!

Anonymous said...

Aloha! Don't feel bad about it. There are so many words that are not used in everyday life and common people prefer it that way.

About the spring rolls, I like the fried ones the most with veggies and bits of chicken or shirmps, dipped in the special sauce. I also like the bite size shanghai style and the fresh ones are called fresh lumpia. They are all sooooo good! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh come on! You didn't know what "nascent" means?!?!?! Just kidding. I didn't know either.

PJ said...

I'm a nascent blog comment hound in training.

Anonymous said...

It's 5 minutes to 11 over here and I've used 'nascent' 5 times for far. Make that 6 times.

Unknown said...

Fab: Shocking, isn't it? Even I was surprised to discover that I'm not always right.

Sentimental: Yes, it's interesting to see the number of 'frequent use' words. There are so many words in the English language that aren't used on a daily basis.

Anon: Well, after I saw the definition, I realized that I should have known what it meant! LOL! I mean, looking at the 'root' and all. Ah well. Sometimes the brain just isn't with it :)

Sharkey: That's a good one!!!

Stephen: Okay. You win! ;) Oh, and send me a postcard from Egypt if you can :)

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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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