begins with an A

i was invited by lovely and talented jaime of the blog rhayne to play the letter game. i am to list my ten favorite words that begin with the letter "A". to assign me a letter, she just ran her finger along a page of a book with her eyes closed, and the letter that she stopped on when she opened her eyes was the letter she gave me.

i was so happy to get this letter, because one of my favorite words period {not just words that begin with "A"} is a word that happens to begin with this first letter of the alphabet—it is no.1 below. the name of one of my favorite people also begins with the letter "A" {no.2}.

below is my list—each with a definition and an explanation.

ar•dor
xn.

1. fiery intensity of feeling
2. strong enthusiasm or devotion; zeal
3. intense heat or glow, as of fire

as i said above, this is one of my favorite words—of all words, not just A-words. what's not to love about the meaning. but i also love the way it sounds and even looks. something about that combination of letters just makes it a visually pleasing word to me. i like the middle english spelling even better—ardour.

an•gel•a
xpro-n.

1. the identical twin sister and life-long friend of georgia

sure, we have our ups and downs. but we know each other better than almost anyone else on the planet. she was my womb-mate. she'll always be my pal—or at least i hope so. when we are in sync and getting along, it's awesome! we get very creative and work great as a team. ever since we could run, if we were in a three-legged race together, we would win by a long shot because our legs are the exact same length and we know each other's next move.

a•bode
xn.

1. a dwelling place; a home

perhaps it is the desire to be an interior designer in me that makes this a favorite word. i just like how it sounds and what it means. i also like the verb form—abide.

aes•thet•ic
xn.

1. a guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility
2. an underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior

i learned this word in college when i began to take classes in design. i could not quite get the grasp of the meaning right off the bat, and it took me a while to pronounce it correctly. but now it is one of my favorite words, both in meaning and enjoyment saying it out loud. {i remember when i first began to use it in sentences, it made me feel so artsy and smart—it's just one of those words. :-)}

arm•pit
xn.

1. the hollow under the upper part of the arm at the shoulder
2. slang the most miserable or undesirable place in a particular area

oh, my gosh! I'M JUST KIDDING! i just threw that in there to see if you were paying attention and actually reading this—and so i would only have to come up with 9 words instead of 10. this is more difficult than it sounds!

an•ise
xn.

1. a plant of the parsley family
2. its fragrant seed used for flavoring
3. an annual, aromatic Mediterranean herb (Pimpinella anisum) in the parsley family, cultivated for its seedlike fruits and the oil obtained from them and used to flavor foods, liqueurs, and candies

there's so much i could say about anise, but i will just let you read it here or here. sadly, i do not like licorice flavor, and anise has a licorice-like flavor. but i like the sound of this word and i love anything having to do with spices and herbs. i also like the fact that anise can be used to relieve menstrual cramps naturally.

ar•chi•tec•ture
xn.

1. the art and science of designing and erecting buildings.
2. buildings and other large structures
3. a style and method of design and construction
4. orderly arrangement of parts; structure

i love architecture—i get this from my father. he was a lover of the work of frank lloyd wright, and now, i am as well. i like wright of my own accord {my next favorite "A" word}, but i am sure i was influenced by my father, since i so admired my father. {oh, and admire is another favorite "A" word, but will not be in the list.} as a student and enthusiast of interior design, you can not help but learn and be enthused about architecture as well. i could talk a lot more about it, but i will leave it at that.

ac•cord
xn.

1. agreement; harmony
2. a settlement or compromise of conflicting opinions
3. a settlement of points at issue between nations
4. spontaneous or voluntary desire to take a certain action

i used to drive a honda accord—i think my dad had some joke about it. when we would all be in the car, he would say we are "all in one accord"—a common phrase we would hear in church all the time, about the church body being in agreement or harmony. but i really do like this word—not just the definition, but also the way it sounds. i especially like the first definition, because i like the word harmony, too. but that will have to be saved for the "H" post.

ar•bo•re•tum
xn.

1. a botanical garden where rare trees or shrubs are cultivated for scientific, educational, and/or ornamental purposes

now this is just a nice word to say, is it not? it rolls off the tongue very nicely. i have been to an arboretum in south carolina that i enjoyed very much. there is one close to where i live that i intend to go to this spring or summer—or maybe both. it is called morton arboretum, and i have heard many good things about it. again—this word has a great meaning and a great sound.

a•vant-garde
xadj.

1. of, relating to, or being part of an innovative group, especially one in the arts

this is another word that i was not familiar with until college art classes. i believe it comes from a french word, which is probably why it sounds so nice to say. here too, i like the meaning as much as how it sounds.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

that's it! i tried to stay mostly basic here—i did not use too fancy of words. simply because i don't know many fancy words. but i do like these.

thanks for the "A" jaime! this was fun to do!

would you like to do it too? {if you do, you don't have to put a picture for every word, and your picture or pictures don't have to be of your letter. you can just post a picture of something that begins with your letter, like jaime did.} if you want me to send you a letter, leave me a comment, and i will send you one that i randomly pick.

{here are all my A's together.}