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Most of us have done this, I think.<\/p>\nMost of us have done this, I think.<\/p>\n
I was writing something. I was not sure of the spelling, or even whether I was using the word properly. \u201cDISCOMBOBULATED.\u201d<\/p>\n
I Googled it.<\/p>\n
The first definition that I came across referenced \u201cconfused\u201d and \u201cdisconcerted.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an adjective, I saw \u201cdisoriented\u201d and \u201cbefuddled\u201d as synonyms. The verb, discombobulate<\/strong> was described as \u201cto confuse\u201d or \u201cto frustrate.\u201d<\/p>\n This made me wonder if there was such a word\u00a0 as \u201ccombobulate,\u201d used to refer to a type of opposite action. That would mean:<\/p>\n To put into order or clarity.<\/p>\n I looked up online urban and colloquial dictionaries that displayed the term. Their verbiage built on the idea of bringing order and coherence out of \u201cdisarray.\u201d Entries went on to explain the expression has been used as a sort of tongue in cheek descriptor but is not, officially, a word.<\/p>\n If combobulate<\/strong> is not a word, it should be. At least, I think so.<\/p>\n More Googling ensued. I read that about five hundred words were added to the Webster\u2019s dictionary in 2021.<\/p>\n Many new words came from terms that have become popular in our networked culture. (Apparently, the Internet is not just a breeding ground for memes and emojis.) Other terms come from science, politics and culture..<\/p>\n I love this idea \u2014 that language is a living thing. It is fundamental to life. Command of language is one of the most important skills a child can acquire.<\/p>\n Adding a word into our lexicon works because people agree on the meaning of something. (Okay, the concept of agreeing on the meaning of something was bankable until Kellyanne Conway came up with \u201calternative facts\u201d in 2017. )<\/p>\n \u201cDeplatform,\u201d meaning to take away someone\u2019s ability to get out their message and \u00a0\u201cwhataboutism,\u201d responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by citing equal or worse offenses committed by others, are among my favorite additions from this past year.<\/p>\n And, how about contactless<\/strong>? \u00a0Five years ago, would you have imagined this as a word?<\/p>\n I love that language is mostly reliable as a means of communications. Yet, it is always getting refreshed.<\/p>\n I love the democratic principles behind how things get changed up.<\/p>\n Yes there are media personalities that can popularize a term like Stephen Colbert did when he introduced the term \u201ctruthiness.\u201d<\/p>\n But basically, anyone can bring a new word into our language. All they have to do is get others to agree on its meaning and get lots of people to use it.<\/p>\n Combobulate\u2026 What do you think?<\/p>\n Maybe we could put our relationships and priorities in order while learning how to serve individual AND global interests if we only had a word for such an enterprise \u2014 if we began all joint endeavors by starting with agreement and applying the same rules to everyone.<\/p>\n Adding a word to our language, like taking a first step towards social change, by rallying around what we can agree on, Is no small thing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most of us have done this, I think. I was writing something. I was not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-blog","grateful-dozen-something-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n