Word Wodge example essay topic

Lynne TorgersonMs. KuzmenkovEnglish 10111-28-00 Wodge: A Definition 'I don't want a great wodge of prose, but about double what we have at present. ' (Ezra Pound, 1913) The word wodge, whose meaning can be surmised from its heavy, lumpish sound, is not particularly common in American usage. It is, however, a wonderful word that ought to be given more recognition. It offers a more vivid description than its synonyms, for example, blob, cluster, or clump. A highly descriptive word, wodge is developed from a combination of the words wad and wedge, the sound of which evokes images of weight and sedentariness.

The word wodge has sprung from a combination of two other words, wad and wedge, but is vastly more entertaining than either. A wedge is generally two principal faces of hard material meeting at an acute angle to be used for raising, holding, or splitting an object; or also to squish or cram oneself or another object into an ill-fitting space in the manner of a wedge. A wad, on the other hand, is a small lump, mass, ball, roll, or bundle of some matter, usually soft or fibrous, i. e., cotton, wool, straw, cloth, paper, or money. Wodge embodies both of these concepts. Resting somewhere between wedge, which has a more mathematical, precise, and triangular meaning, and wad, which is crumpled, disorderly, and Torgerson 2 usually made of paper, wodge seems to be lumpy, unwieldy, awkward and has a particular sense of untidiness drifting about it. It does most often refer to paper, as in 'You know, your paycheck, the thing with the wodge of money in it that you get at the end of the week,' but can also be more figurative, as in 'I've just gotten back a great wodge of hard disk space!' If the thing one is referring to is truly a wodge, neither wad nor wedge will suffice to describe it.

Wodge does have a number of synonyms, though none carry quite the same meaning. For example, bolus is similar to wodge, but more specific, being defined as a lump of chewed food. Others are gob bit, usually used to refer to raw meat, and the more ordinary chunk, lump, gob, and cluster. Wodge is a unique word, with a specific definition to describe an unspecific, amorphous object. It can be compared with lump, blob, and chunk, but is more than and separate from these more common words. Vocalizing wodge evokes the sounds of stodge and pod ge, as well, which offer dull, inelegant meanings, similar to the meaning of wodge.

Stodge technically means 'to stuff full,' and when one stuffs something full, it usually gets lumpy. Podge means simply purge, something slightly fat and sluggish. Hodge-pod ge, however, is a mixture, muddle, mess. Collectively, the effect of these words is similar. The images they evoke are related; words ending in -ode are a group, a family which is plain, untidy, but endearing.

The effect of speaking aloud the word wodge is to conjure up this thick, solid image. A wodge can be defined as a lump, clump, or wad, but that truly does not Torgerson 3 suffice to describe this excellent word. Ungainly and awkward, wodge is more than simply a lump. Its sound calls to mind images of other words, which add to its uniqueness and improve its meaning.

It is more unusual and intriguing than its synonyms, and has an interesting, if slightly unclear, history. A wodge is not a measly lump or wad, but an amorphous collection of similar objects, an over-large piece of food, a gob bit of raw meat. Using this semi-humorous word can give one a sense of control over the thing or stuff in question. By saying, 'I've got a heaping wodge of bills to pay!' one can feel a bit better about the situation, simply from hearing the humor in what one has just said.