Make Your Point > Archived Issues > LEGERITY

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explore the archives: Today's "legerity" is a beautiful, graceful word. The only one we've looked at that's even lovelier is probably this proper adjective meaning "stately, beautiful, and tall like a statue." Could you recall it? It starts with J. Oh, and with "legerity," you'll recognize that root meaning "lightness" because we saw it in our recent word "leger______," meaning "lightness of hand" or "skillful tricky." make your point with... "LEGERITY" Legerity is lightness of touch or feeling, lightness of movement, or quick and nimble thinking.  Pronunciation: luh JAIR it ee Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "education," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of education," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many educations." Likewise, talk about "the legerity," "such legerity," "a lot of legerity," "no legerity," and so on, but don’t say "legerities.") Other forms: none How to use it: "Legerity" has a very positive tone. It's the word you need to describe someone's agility, grace, lightness, and subtlety all at once. To be literal, talk about legerity of movement, the dancers' legerity, the legerity of her fingers across the piano keys, his legerity in the boxing ring, or someone who moves with the legerity of a cat. Be figurative, too: certain films or works of literature and art are created with legerity or praised for their legerity; fine foods can be prepared with legerity; someone can speak with legerity, think with legerity, or have legerity of mind. examples: Emily Dickinson's "A Bird came down the Walk" expresses the creature's startling legerity: he has "rapid eyes" in a "Velvet Head," with feathers that "row" him softly home. Getting across the playroom floor without tripping right now would require catlike legerity. Let's clean up these toys, or at least clear a path! study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "legerity" means when you can explain it without saying "agility" or "subtlety." try it out: Think of a song, poem, story, book, film, performance, or meal that impressed you with its grace and subtlety, and fill in the blanks: "_____ was (composed / created / performed) with legerity." Example: "'Aladdin' was performed with legerity by the Houston Ballet." Or, if you've been particularly unimpressed with some heavy-handed, awkward song, poem, meal and so on: "Legerity was not a priority in the (composition / creation / performance) of _____." Example: "Legerity was not a priority in the composition of 'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.'" before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Well-Named Creatures: Some names for animals and other creatures define themselves instantly or after a brief moment’s thought: anteater, grasshopper, hummingbird, seahorse, octopus (eight-foot). But other names deserve some exploration; they hold hidden clues about what the animals look like or what they do. And sometimes the names reveal how baffled people were when they first caught a glimpse of the creatures and tried to name them. This month, I’ll give you the literal meaning of a creature's name, and you come up with what it is. Answers will appear in alphabetical order this month. (Oh, and the answers might be animals, birds, insects, or even extinct creatures.) Enjoy! From yesterday: A "river horse" is a h_______. Answer: A hippopotamus! It's from Greek: hippos means horse, and potamos means river or rushing water.  Try this one today: An "evil spirit of the dead," although it’s a cute mammal, is a L_______. (I used a capital L so you wouldn't mistake it for the letter I. The answer is a common noun, not a proper noun.) review today's word: 1. The opposite of LEGERITY is A. FECUNDITY B. SUPERFLUITY C. PONDEROUSNESS 2. He _____ the audience with his natural legerity of speech. A. confused B. delighted C. manipulated Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B