Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ENCOMIUM

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explore the archives: Are you a fan of Futurama? I love this scene: Professor Farnsworth tells everyone they'll be attending a symposium that night, and Fry--generally a simple fellow--responds, "Wow, I love symposia!" If you want to, for humorous purposes or otherwise, you can turn today's encomium into the intelligent-sounding plural, encomia. But you don't have to; encomiums will do just fine. The same goes for effluvium: pick effluvia or effluviums; both are correct. (Could you recall what effluvium means?) make your point with... "ENCOMIUM" An encomium is a formal, serious speech or piece of writing that highly praises someone or something. Pronunciation: en KO me um Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one encomium or multiple encomiums/encomia.) Other forms: The person who writes or delivers an encomium is an encomiast. How to use it: Talk about writing or preparing an encomium, giving or delivering an encomium, launching into an encomium, treating your listeners to an encomium, etc. People and things can accumulate, deserve, earn, or win encomiums. Occasionally we describe an encomium about someone or something ("an encomium about the beauty of New England winters"), but most of the time, it's an encomium to someone or something ("encomiums to Susan B. Anthony"). That's poetic, isn't it? Even though I defined "encomium" as "a speech" or "a piece of writing," you can loosen that up a bit to include any performance or other mode of expression: an episode of a television show can be an encomium to curiosity, a song can be an encomium to the freedom of a teenage summer, a commercial can be an encomium to German engineering. Here's a distinction that I'm about 95% sure is accurate. If you talk about a person's encomium in phrases like "his encomium(s)" and "Ms. Harper's encomium(s)," you can mean that the person is either giving the praise or receiving it. The context should make it clear: "His encomiums are so heavy-handed" probably means that he's giving the praise, while "His encomiums are well deserved" probably means that he's receiving the praise. But if you use a phrase like "the encomium(s) of someone," then you always mean the person giving the praise. (For example, "the encomiums of journalists" means praise given by journalists and not given to journalists: "Her work garnered the encomiums of journalists.")  You've probably noticed how I keep talking about encomiums like they're countable things: an encomium, that encomium, this encomium, many encomiums, etc. But every now and again, people treat the word like an uncountable noun: "such encomium," "letters full of encomium," "an accomplishment that generated high encomium." Lastly, a very close synonym of "encomium" is "panegyric," a word we checked out recently. The two have different origins, and we treat them slightly differently in sentences: you usually give an encomium to someone or something, but you can give a panegyric to, of, or on someone or something. Honestly, we only need one of these two words in our language--but we've got both, so let's be familiar with both. examples: She was so lavish in her encomiums to the novel that I just had to read it. Nowhere in this encomium to the technology-free lifestyle does he acknowledge that technology has improved lives. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "encomium" means when you can explain it without saying "formal praise" or "a description of someone or something's good qualities." try it out: Think of someone or something you adore. Fill in the blanks: "I can't seem to talk about (someone or something) without launching into an encomium to (its/her/his) (certain wonderful quality)." Example: "I can't seem to talk about my daughter's daycare center without launching into an encomium to its well-designed spaces." 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. This month, we're playing with the original and literal meanings of familiar words. I'll give you three words and their original or literal definitions, and you'll match them up. Easy! But then the following day, see if you can recall those old meanings. Hard! :) Our game has two purposes. One, we'll visit the interesting, thought-provoking old meanings of words. And two, we'll remind ourselves of a powerful learning strategy: delayed recalling. Let's play! First, try to recall from yesterday the literal meaning of "complain" and the original meanings of "happy" and "weird." Answers appear at the bottom of this issue. Next, match these words to their original or literal definitions in the answer bank below: 1. "Excite" originally meant _____ 2. "Decrease" literally means _____ 3. "Style" originally meant _____ Answer bank: A. "to grow away from." B. "to set in motion." C. "a sharp tool for carving letters." review today's word: 1. The opposite of ENCOMIUM is A. ADVOCACY. B. FLIPPANCY. C. VITUPERATION. 2.  No matter the reason for _____, it's best to open with a _____ encomium. A. the parent-teacher conference .. warm B. returning the product .. factual C. the layoff .. neutral Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, 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 game questions: 1. "Happy" originally meant "having good fortune." 2. "Complain" literally means "to beat the breast." 3. "Weird" originally meant "destiny." Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A