Sunday Word: Catkin & Wonderwall

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

cat·kin [ˈkatkən]:
origin: [1570s] Dutch; katteken= "kitten"

noun
Botanical. Have you ever seen a pussy willow branch? Those fluffy, fur-like blossoms are referred to as "catkins"; oblong & cylindric growths occur in many plant families, usually have no visible petals, and contain only one sex on their branch, although not all of them are downy.

Other examples: hazel, oak, birch, mulberry.





won·der·wall [ˈwəndərˈwôl]:
origin: [1968] British; slang, invented, likely from a film directed by Richard Balducci (not a 1995 Oasis song).

adjective
1. Infatuation; someone who preoccupies all your thoughts or is your everything -- based off the song "Wonderwall", by the British band Oasis. However, Noel Matthews, guitarist & songwriter, states that to him the meaning was: "It’s a song about an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.”

2. According to Urban Dictionary: A barrier that divides reality & the fantastical, ideally with at least one peep hole that allows the viewer to see through to the other side (to your dreams or obsession).

3. There is also a film & soundtrack with the same name, circa: 1968; alas, strangely, this did not spring up initially during research, although it clearly influenced the second definition -- as the plot revolves around a hermit-like scientist (Oscar Collins) obsessed with peeping on a couple next door, as he's become infatuated with & endlessly daydreams about the female who models.

That actually adds a rather creepy notion to the word!

Monday word: prosopagnosia

[ersatz-read.livejournal.com]

prosopagnosia (prŏs′ə-păg-nō′sē-ə, -zē-ə) noun
An inability to recognize faces of familiar people; "face blindness".

This can be due to brain damage or it can be congenital.
There are different forms and levels; some people may have difficulty recognizing family members.

I always assumed I was just bad at faces due to lack of practice or something, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I have some form of mild prosopagnosia.  I've worked in the same building for 15 years; it took over a decade to firmly establish some people's faces in my memory.  Mom was the opposite:  she had this near-magical ability to recall the name and social/familial context of someone she'd met only once twenty years back.

Etymology:  1950s, from Greek prosopon, face and agnosia, not knowing