WORD OF THE WEEK: Aquabib

Summary: You read this blog for a variety of reasons. If even one of them is your profound love of words, you'll be thrilled with today's resource, Save the Words. (And the WOW Word of the Week isn't too shoddy, either!)

At my Facebook fan page, my friend Christine recommended an amazing source that I can't believe I haven't come across on my own: Save the Words. Now, just that phrase is enough to get a true wordaholic like myself all atwitter. But when you find out the mission of this site ... WOW is right!

SaveTheWords.org is a site created by Oxford Dictionaries to keep dictionary rejects in circulation in the English language. Of course, the criterion for their rejection from the tome of all words is that they haven't been used enough in day-to-day conversation to warrant the space. And for those of us true word hoarders (many of whom edit for Oxford, apparently), it's hard enough to admit that's happening to any word. But to see it completely fade away is simply ... well, a travesty.

Like stray little puppies who've wandered away from home, these words need love and adoption. That's where Save the Words comes in: partnering you with the word or words of your choice and pledging you to care for and use them as often as you can. Best of all, you get to rub their warm little noses and pat their wagging tails as many times as you like before you select one to take home (and take with you everywhere else you go).

Won't you save a word today? Like this one:

Aquabib (AH - kwah - BIB) - someone who only drinks water or drinks a lot of water. Taken from the Latin words for water (aqua) and drink (bibere). Think of imbibe.

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