I decided to post another word to write/comment on. Will admit, I felt inspired to write about this word and wanted to post this newsletter today instead of 2 weeks from now; Surprise Y’all 😊.
I have chosen the word, Adamant, to discuss. From my copy of the New World Dictionary (America English, 3rd edition), the definition as a noun is 1) in ancient times, a hard stone or substance that was supposedly unbreakable; 2) [Old Poet] unbreakable hardness; as an adjective 1) too hard to be broken, not giving in or relenting; 2) unyielding aka inflexible. According to Google, as a noun, adamant means a legendary rock or mineral to which properties were attributed, formerly associated with diamond or lodestone; as an adjective, refusing to be persuaded or to change one’s mind.
I have to say this word, Adamant, in my opinion, is probably one of the most obscure, esoteric, hardly used words ever. I have heard the word being using to describe a person who was Adamant in their decision, basically holding firm, not yielding. However, I cannot remember when I read/seen/heard this word in the last decade or two apart from reading the Dictionary. And to be honest, a person can use it in nearly everyday conversation. “I wish my house was Adamant, I would not have to do any repairs to it after it is built. And I don’ have to worry about it being destroyed by a fire, tornado nor hurricane.” “I just wish the outside of my car was Adamant, I would not have to worry any damage to it from an accident or vandalism. Just have to make sure to lock it or else someone will jacked it on me. Not only am I SOL, someone will probably use it to smash into a bank and clean out the vault.” “Man alive, that person is so damn Adamant, seen mules less frigging stubborn.” Once I had a relative who was so Adamant about the direction where the wind blows from. We all knew the wind was the north, but my relative stated, sometimes very strongly, that the wind was the west, no matter who was talking to my relative. So, that one of the topics you did not bring up with my relative, the direction of where the wind blows or else a very vocal disagreement would happen. Yup, you can definitely describe an individual who is/was stubborn as a mule as Adamant because that person would not change her/his mind, no matter what. Suffice to say that we ALL met/dealt with individuals like that. In regards to a physical substance that is Adamant, depends on the time period and the available technology. However, in today day & age and the current technology, nothing is Adamant or indestructible.
I bring up Adamant for another reason. Being a Marvel fan, of course I have read/seen/hear the variant of Adamant, Adamantium. From Marvel Fandom website, Adamantium is a virtually indestructible man-made steel alloy which does not occur in nature. It is not an element and its properties do not qualify it for any known space on the Periodic Table of Elements. It is extremely rigid steel-based alloy that the density is virtually indestructible.
I will admit, I am a major fan of Marvel comics. Since reviewing/learning words from my copy of the Dictionary, I have gone back through comics, including Marvel, that are 30 to 40 years old. I have notice that some of the words used in either the dialogue or thought balloons, they can be considered Archaic. I will admit, I cannot remember if I came across the word Adamant specifically in Marvel comics, but Adamantium, a whole bunch. Mr. Roy Thomas, a Marvel writer, he came up with the word, Adamantium, in Avengers Issue 66 in 1969. I theorized that Mr. Thomas made up the word Adamantium, a fictional indestructible metal, which is obviously a variant of Adamant. I am certain other writers of Marvel, including Mr. Stan Lee himself probably, they would comb through their dictionaries to find Archaic or uncommon words to use in those balloons. Then, they include these Archaic words or make up variants of the words. There are a few other words that I can refer to as examples, but will save discussing them for future newsletters.
I will admit, I do read comic books, including Marvel titles such as Avengers, Mighty Thor, Rom, for nostalgia. It helps that TV shows like the Big Bang Theory, Castle have helped to make it popular to read/collect comics, especially when you are not young. However, I do like reading them to see if I can spot an Archaic/uncommon word in any of the dialogue/thought balloons and/or captions. By using Archaic/uncommon words in comics, I hypothesized that certain writers were subliminally, trying to educate their readers. It may inspire a reader to find out the meaning of a word you don’t understand. It may inspire a reader to adopt using that word in future conversations (like I attempt to do). For the record, I am not inferring ALL comic books do this, use Archaic/uncommon words. Some have.
To recap, Adamant implies an unyielding, unbreakable, indestructible object. Or you can infer to someone as Adamant, stubborn beyond relief and will never change her/his mind, no matter what. Adamantium (a fictional indestructible metal from Marvel comics) a variant from Adamant. Will admit, looking forward to using Adamant in the future, hope y’all do too.
Thank you again for reading this newsletter. Much appreciated. Please subscribe it if you like. Please have a good and safe 2 weeks. Will post again on Friday February 17.
BDJ signing off. Grazie.