Word Nerd: Solecism

I have not used last week’s word at all. I thought about it frequently and practiced in my head, but then I was concerned that I would use it incorrectly and someone would make fun of me. (This is actually a fairly constant worry of mine. I have so many friends with prodigious vocabularies that I often avoid using my fifty cent [and silver dollar] words in their presence [or in the presence of their eyes] so I don’t appear idiotic.)

So, this week’s installment will be particularly apt.

sol·e·cism
[sol–uh-siz-uhm, soh–luh–]
noun

  1. a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
  2. a breach of good manners or etiquette.
  3. any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.

Origin:
1570–80;  < Latin soloecismus  < Greek soloikismós,  equivalent to sóloik ( os )
( Sólo ( i ) a city in Cilicia where a corrupt form of Attic Greek was spoken + -ikos -ic) + -ismos -ism

I will try to worry less about committing a solecism with my new words and hope that those who hear me in an error will gently point out said error with a minimum of mockery.

“solecism.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 12 Jun. 2014. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/solecism>.

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