On 27 March 2008 I created a new word and today I’m officially sharing it with the world (although, truth be told, it was previewed on Facebook and Twitter on its’ day of origination). MOJOVATE, [mō'jō'veyt], 1. to magically stimulate others to create or engage; 2. to inspire oneself to perform exceptionally; 3. a captivating spirit or energy that drives innovation. mo•jo•va•tor, noun; She is the top mojovator on her team. mo•jo•va•tor•y, adjective; His speech was exceptionally mojovatory.
My foray into Lexicography. I’ve have been fascinated with words since my 4th grade teacher, Ms. Hosenfeld (more on her in another post perhaps), asked us to explain why things were identified by the names they had been given. At the tender age of nine, this was absolutely boggling. I remember thinking, “Why is a chair called a chair?” OMG, that was like asking me to explain infinity. I thought surely I would lose my mind.
Well, I can’t recall the outcome of that assignment (remember, I hinted that this teacher may come up in a future post) but suffice it to say, I doubt it was favorable. However, it didn’t suppress my enthusiasm for language. I realize that this post will not be properly coded and therefore won’t have the proper line spacing, line breaks or fonts but I’ll figure that out as I go along.
