These wounds they will not heal

[venta]

The things you learn.

hjalfi just described (with good reason) my hand as looking "like an invisible spider was sucking the ichor out of it". He pronounced ichor "i-core", where I've always understood it to rhyme with liquor.

Fortunately, we have the internet. I suck at reading IPA, but dictionary.com's definition of ichor provides recordings (Hjalfi was right). Rather charmingly, it also offers the following "related words": festering, purulence, pus, sanies, suppuration. Oooh, putting the ick in ichor.

Sanies ? That sounds like an American high-school nickname the weirdos apply to everyone else. But no, sanies has three syllables and means "a thin, often greenish, serous fluid that is discharged from ulcers, wounds, etc."

But then we had to look up serous, which quite logically turns out to mean "like a serum".

So I've learned two new words, even if they are only useful in digusting circumstances, and how to pronounce one properly. Today has not been wasted.

In case you're worried, the cramp in my hand that was scrunching up one muscle and causing it to look as if an invisible spider was sucking the ichor out of it has now gone away.

Comments

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

I remember a conversation with verlaine, many years ago, about the pronunciation of ichor. I had always assumed i-core, but not on any sound basis; and as he favoured icker; I figured being a classicist he was probably right. I shall now correct myself back!

(Kind of weird how it also means the rarefied fluid that flows in the gods. Bit of a comedown to the modern usage.)

Sanies is completely new to me. Sadly I can't think of anything that rhymes with it.

[zotz]

Neither way's how I go about it. It's that CH, y'see.

Similarly, I think there are about 8 plausible ways of pronouncing Autechre, and I've still no idea which they themselves use.

[venta.livejournal.com]

You'd say itch-or? That's a new one. Not that I have any evidence that it's less valid than iquor.

I've always said (when I had to say such things) Or-Tekra, with a slight French flavour about the hindparts.

[zotz]

No no no. That'd be a ridiculous way to pronounce it.

I suspect they pronounce Autechre "Owtekker", being (AFAICT) somewhat Northern.

[sea-of-flame.livejournal.com]

Impious.

Imp-ious (reads like impish) or im-pious (reads like lacking in piety)

my brain tends to do a magic-eye trick between the two...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Something lodged in the back of my brain tells me that the impy pronounciation is the correct one for something without piety. Which always struck me as silly.

[(Anonymous)]

That's because as one aware of how brownies and others have hidden long cherished posessions, before, during, and after moving, you know that imps lack piety (as well as consideration for others, or even good manners).

[hjalfi.livejournal.com]

Actually, now I think of it, possibly the invisible spider originated from when Venta was bitten by the ectoplasmic worm she found in her soup a few weeks back.

[beckyl.livejournal.com]

Evanescence? can't remember the track title without looking it up. Half a kudo if I'm right I guess.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Off hand I'm not totally sure - I think it's Linkin Park, although that probably constitutes close enough for half a kudo :)

I think it's called Wounds, or something equally expected.

[(Anonymous)]

Surely dictionary.com gives the American pronunciation?

I'm with you and verlaine - icker.

[floralaetifica.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wasn't logged in. That was me, though.

[ulfilias.livejournal.com]

I agree...American voice kinda gives that away. Although with pronunciations there is always the tomato/potato/bath kinda thing with dialects.

I ocasionaly get snarky at my audio books, particularly american ones that pronounce things different to expected. Even Terry Jones did something odd listening to the latest hitchhikers although i can't offhand recall what.