I like the sense of disparate things coming together. Smiling and holding the door may seem like small things but, in the aggregate, acts of courtesy, forbearance, kindness and grace by countless people make this world a wonderful place.

Compare with sarcopenia. Atrophy has escaped the narrow bounds of the medical.

"Loss of strength as a result of ageing is the only meaning of today's Good Word" Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques recently returned from a 204 day mission to the international space station. Like many other astronauts , he suffered significant loss of strength due to long duration i...

I am also reminded of Narnia with its wood and water spirits—dryads (a.k.a. silvans) and naiads

https://narnia.fandom.com/wiki/Dryad

I am not sure that a word is missing because I think any of the words will serve. Rather, I think that all of the words have shades of meaning that might convey more than is intended. Other words that could be used are 'frequent' and 'occasional', but these too have shades of meaning that might conv...

To my ears—I am an engineer—periodic connotes 'at fixed intervals'; timely connotes 'on time'; and regular connotes 'mundane'. But I suspect that there is significant overlap in meanings which would be instructive to tease out. What word should be put in a this sentence if one did not wish to connot...

I grant that hygge was originally a Danish word but many English words have been adopted or stolen from foreign languages e.g. yacht, oboe, algebra, and typhoon. Often, this occurs when there is a gap in the English language that needs filling such as ketchup, koala, toboggan, and kayak. Just before...

Steven Pinker also has a book "Elements of Style", a guide in the vein of Strunk and White.

Those interested in the "rules" of the English language might be interested in books by Steven Pinker. I can particularly recommend Words and Rules, and The Stuff of Thought.

https://stevenpinker.com/taxonomy/term/4265

A new word borrowed from Danish which I learned from dictionary.com. It appeals to me because it has a similar meaning to the Dutch word gezellig, a meaning that cannot (until now) be expressed in English. Searching online I found lifestyle books about. I told my (Dutch ancestry) wife about this new...

Also (from Merriam-Webster)
: to heat, sweeten, and flavor (a beverage, such as wine or cider) with spices

from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:

O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Methought she purged the air of pestilence!
That instant was I turn'd into a hart;
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E'er since pursue me

Reminds me of the word obfuscate.

Sedulously eschew obfuscatory hyperverbosity and prolixity. anon?

Appreciative joy at the success and good fortune of others. A term of Pali or Sanskrit origin frequently used to express a Buddhist concept. This borrowing is not common in English but not unheard of. The opposite of schadenfreude. Even though I was relegated to second place in the art competition, ...

More common and recognizable than foudroyant. It also has figurative senses such as "Concert attendees were treated to some pyrotechnics by piano virtuoso Ivor E. Keyes." or "Fred's insult to George's ancestry led to some verbal pyrotechnics."