Word of the Day Triple Play
We have a Word of the Day trifecta today, courtesy of Henry Miller’s rapturous descriptions of Greece in The Colossus of Maroussi, an account of his time with his good friend Lawrence Durrell (another favourite author of mine) on the island of Corfu and throughout Greece.
Today’s words are diadem [n, tr. v], antinomianism [n], and carrefour [n]
diadem ["dye-uh-dem," emphasis on 1st syllable]
n. 1. A crown worn as a sign of royalty.
2. Royal power or dignity.
tr.v. di·a·demed, di·a·dem·ing, di·a·dems
To adorn with or as if with a diadem.
antinomianism ["an-tee-noh-mee-an-ism," emphasis on 3rd syllable]
n. 1. Theology The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.
2. The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as opposed to fixed or universal.
carrefour ["ka-ri-four," equal emphasis on 1st and 3rd syllables]
n. 1. A crossroads.
2. A public square; a plaza.
And now … the quote:
“All Greece is diademed with such antinomian spots; it is perhaps the explanation for the fact that Greece has emancipated itself as a country, a nation, a people, in order to continue as the luminous carrefour of a changing humanity.” — Henry Miller, The Colossus of Maroussi (1941)
