One of my jobs is to write SEO-enhanced product descriptions. So, amid the Blizzard of Oz while the snow piled up outside, I was cozied up inside pondering ways to describe summer patio furniture and lawn ornaments. Ha!
When working on these projects I often find myself stuck trying to think of different words with which to say the same thing over and over again. During one such moment, when trying to think of a fresh way to say “adorning” the word “bedeck” came to mind. I second-guessed myself: Is that even a word? What a silly looking word. But the squiggly red line didn’t appear [in Word] so it had to be “real”. I right-clicked to check its synonyms to ensure I was using it correctly.
Here is the brief word rabbit-trail I journeyed down…
be·deck (verb) origin: 1560-70
- to deck out; adorn, especially in a showy or gaudy manner.
Wow — there are even sillier sounding synonyms:
be·di·zen (verb) origin: 1655-65
- to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.
fes·toon (verb) origin: 1670-80
- to adorn with or as with festoons
(noun)
- a string or chain of flowers, foliage, ribbon, etc.,
suspended in a curve between two points. - a decorative representation of this,
as in architectural work or on pottery. - a fabric suspended, draped, and bound at intervals
to form graceful loops or scalloped folds.
Culminating in this quirky discovery — apparently in dentistry, the “garland-like area” of the gums surrounding the “necks” of the teeth is known as the “festoon”. Have you ever looked at your gums and thought they looked particularly garland-like? Dentists are just interior decorators at heart, I guess.
So, today’s {word wednesday} safari is brought to you by a bedecked and bedizened snowlady who wears scarves on the necks of her festooned teeth…or something like that. Cheers to winter’s lavish adornment, which is definitely not gaudy color-wise, but might be a little overdone in its quantity!
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» Don’t miss previous {word wednesday} posts: Fillip, anyone?; No Name Calling Here; Saints & Milksops; Do you funk fluffles? and more…
Oh – and many thanks for introducing me to the dental meaning of “festoon.”
Fun. :) Since you’re a word-lover, you might like the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form https://www.oedilf.com .
I found this post while looking for “festoon” and “encarpus”. :)
https://www.oedilf.com/db/Lim.php?Word=festoon
https://www.oedilf.com/db/Lim.php?Word=encarpus
Dentists are just interior decorators at heart, I guess. ha ha ha!!!!
;)