Fe

[norwood]

I've seen more than a couple blogs just tonight with the word iron in their names. Not only do I wish I would have thought of a clever handle with that word in it, but it's made me realize that it's one of my favorite words.

The way it's spelled, the way it looks, the way it sounds, the way it feels when I say it. I can almost taste the sharp metallic of it when I say the word iron.

I like the images it brings to my mind--a forge, pieces with a dark pewter sheen to them, weapons, tools, the cold. Somehow comforting, in its own way. I feel that way about words like whiskey and wool and wood, as well.

It pulls at something in my blood, just a little tug beneath the surface, drawn along arteries as it pulls outward, as if wanting to lead me somewhere, running back through veins as my heart gathers it all back to itself, safe and untouched by the air.

Perhaps there is a higher content inside, after all.

Comments

[spiegelschatten]

Mhm, well generally I would try to name something that is hard after something that sounds hard? Like,the cold itself is not soft. It comes, not slowly, but very fast and basically feels like a bite in your hands, so you say "kalt", like the bite it does to you.

But iron/Eisen appears hard and cold as well but is named something so soft. I think that is a bit unusual, though I'm sure there are a lot of other examples. But it is a good kind of unusual. You could soften iron while heating it, but even non-scientifically, you can therefore think that even if something appears to be hard, it can have a little softness around it - and may it be just a name.

And I think that is odd in a good way :D (is odd usually used with bad things?)

[norwood]

I really enjoy the way you described all that--to me iron looks and sounds strong as word, not that it's a strong word in usage, but just that there is a strength behind it, metaphorically.

And I feel that, unfortunately, most people (at least native English speakers, as those're who I've dealt the most with) tend to view "odd" as somewhat bad, as it's a deviation from the norm (and we all know THAT is bad /eyeroll). I personally don't think odd is always or even usually bad--I've spent most of my life reconditioning myself (and trying to convince others) that odd or weird isn't bad, but something to find out more about, or to celebrate, even. Alas, perhaps it's the limitations of English colloquialisms, but when something is amiss or wrong it's casual to say it's "odd". Thus a negative connotation.

But! That all said, I love hearing input about words and such from people who are a different native speaker than myself--you bring excellent perspective and thoughts to the table. :D