Saturday, March 20, 2010

in defence of the word 'lovely'

Lovely: adj. love·li·er, love·li·est

1. Full of love; loving.
2. Inspiring love or affection.
3. Having beauty that appeals to the emotions as well as to the eye.
4. Enjoyable; delightful.



I use the word 'lovely' a lot. You may have noticed.
I was talking to a colleague the other day, who said that saying 'lovely' was a bit insipid. Like saying the day was 'nice' or someone looked 'okay'. It's a bit granny, a bit old. But in defense of the word, I think it's just swell (we can go into that word another time). I think it IS a bit granny. I like granny thank-you-very-much. To me it is patchwork, sunshine, fresh flowers and friends over for cups of tea. Just look at that definition. Call me old-fashioned, but it's just lovely.

I haven't found a word yet that quite says all of that in.one.word. I'm not one for 'awesome' (unless it IS particularly awesome) or 'great' or 'cool bananas' (that's for special occasions only). I find I use words in seasons, and right now, it's all about 'lovely'.

Do you find yourself using the same words? What do YOU say?

1 comment:

  1. Seasonal word use... I'd never thought about it, but you're right, lovely does really suit autumn!
    One of my housemates massively overuses the word ace, and I definitely have ace-fatigue, but lovely is a whole other cup of tea. Maybe your colleague had an insincere-lovely overload - it kind of is the go-to word for thanking people for presents that aren't quite right. Which is a shame, as it's a slur on its name!

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