Word Nerd Wednesday: Congrats, Emile!
Welcome back to Word Nerd Wednesday, where I geek out over words and tell you quirky stories to help remember them. Today’s word is one of my favorites, so let’s get right to the story.
Emile Stewart is seven years old. On his eighth birthday, he’ll get a fancy new bike. But his birthday feels ages away and all his friends are riding around the neighborhood on their bikes while he watches. It’s like torture. And then, one day, his parents wake him up and tell him, “Emile, you’re eight!” And with those words, all his waiting and frustration is over! Those magic words make everything better. “Emile, you’re eight” = ameliorate (uh-MEEL-yor-ate), which means to improve or make more tolerable.
Why do I like this word? For one thing, it’s a positive word. It’s focused on making things better. But mostly, because it rolls right off the tongue, basically does a somersault in your mouth. No, seriously. Try it out. It starts in the middle, to the front with the M, rolling to the back all the way up to through R, then it returns to the front to end on the T. I guess you could say it rolls like the wheel of a bike. 😉
So there you have it. Ameliorate. Why not give it a spin this week?