Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Apricity means the warmth of the sun in winter. I learned this word listening to the glorious A Way with Words. It’s a radio show about language but not in the grammar snob sense you might imagine. In fact, it’s the opposite. They break down the snobbery, myths, and long-held misconceptions that plague our language and conversations.
Anyway, about a million years ago—actually ten, but anything BC (before COVID) might as well be a million years ago—they did a segment on this wonderful word, apricity.
You know that amazing feeling—the heat of the sun overcomes the chilly air to bring a glow to your cheeks even as you are surrounded by the winter landscape. It’s nice to have words for otherwise difficult to describe feelings, and this is one of my favorites. We’ve all delighted in the feeling of apricity at some point in our lives, even if we didn’t know what to call it.
Yet this word is considered obsolete. In fact, the spell check powers-that-be insist this word doesn’t exist. Even now in this blog post editor, my references to apricity are marred by that insidious little red line under the word, demanding that I correct it.
But I will dig in my heels here. I refuse to let this word be relegated to obsolescence.
Apricity! Apricity! Apricity!
Take that, spell check. I won’t be intimidated by your scarlet stains on this wonderful word.
Adventure on, friends. And if you delight in the warmth of sun in winter, help me keep apricity alive.
Leave a Reply