Sunday, May 31, 2009

The Words They Like

Lawrence Durrell: Exiguous



Lawrence Durrell likes things complicated. The author of the Alexandria Quartet, a tetralogy, the first book of which (Justine) I lost last night at the Rumpus/McSweeney's/SMITH Mag event, Durrell was also fond of complicated four-partnered entanglements that transcend conventional conceptions of love, and four-syllabled Latinate words:

Exiguous

As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary:

Scanty in measure or number; extremely small, diminutive, minute.

Etymology as per The Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: Latin exiguus, from exigere

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