Are you always caught with your nose in a good book? Do you feel close enough to fictional characters that you consider them your friends?
Well, chances are you’re an eager reader. We don’t blame you. Books are often how we learn new words and understand how to apply them in everyday conversations.
Sometimes, we read so many new words (and don’t hear them spoken) that we tend to mispronounce them too. How did you pronounce Hermoine when you read it in your head? No judgment, we were shocked when we saw the movie too.
Pronunciations aside, we rounded up some of the best bookworm words to use for describing your nerdiness or your love of literature or both. Have you used any of them before?
colophon
If you’re truly crazy about books, no page is left unturned when you read, including the author section, acknowledgments, and even the title page. That’s where you find the colophon: a publisher’s or printer’s distinctive emblem, used as an identifying device on its books and other works.
bibliotaph
We all have our vices. But, if you are a bibliotaph, or “book hoarder,” maybe your obsession isn’t so bad. It just means you’re so into reading that you stow away tons of books wherever you can: your closet, the stove, under your bed, under your dog’s bed. Anywhere to keep them safe or you know, keep your dirty little secret safe.
fascicle
While some readers thrive on an 800-pager that will keep them busy for, oh, say, just a few long nights, others prefer something on the smaller scale. A fascicle, published installments or sections of a book, provides the perfect amount to read in a short amount of time. A great example is Emily Dickinson’s Fascicles, which include over 800 of her poems across 40 different booklets.
Did you know what “coze” means? Jane Austen popularized these five words we still use today.
logophile
Sure, you’re a certified book devotee, but are you also a logophile? Well, if you like to read, then you most likely enjoy the words behind the story. And if that’s the case, you can be sure to add the term logophile to your résumé, because that means you are a serious word enthusiast—a “word lover.”
sesquipedalian
Sometimes being long-winded isn’t a good thing. No one wants to listen to an overly long (and boring) speech, but using long words (especially when they are perfect for what’s being communicated) isn’t always a bad thing. Sesquipedalian means “given to using long words”; it can also characterize a very long word.
bibliophile
If you’re a bibliophile, you’re a “lover of books,” especially a collector of fine, beautifully made books. Bibliophiles pay close attention to the whole package, from a book’s spine to the quality of paper the words are printed on.
bookish
When you spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about fictional characters (and the many plot twists that come their way), you can definitely classify yourself as bookish. Curling up with a good book over the weekend sounds much better than drinks at a new club—and that’s because you’re devoted to those pages like any true book nerd should be!
