Have you ever been accused of being a “Chatty Cathy?” (I’m showing my age by using that expression, I’m sure.) If so, you are probably a “prolix” person. Maybe a “Prolix Polly” or a “Verbose Veronica,” or a . . . oops, now I’m being “prolix.”
prolix — an adjective describing someone using excess words; something written or spoken that is too long and drawn out
prolijo — the Spanish masculine cognate of the same meaning
prolija — the Spanish feminine cognate
One of the many benefits I encountered while teaching a high school linguistics class for a few years was that my own lexicon grew by leaps and bounds. One of the words that I vividly recall adding to my lexical repertoire was the word “prolix” because it’s an odd-sounding word and because it sounds as though it describes someone who is a pro at taking his or her licks (or a pro at licking? — ha ha).
“Prolix” comes from Latin’s prolixus which means “extended” and which comes from the combination of the prefix “pro-” and a form of the Latin word for “liquid.” If you are “prolix” then your words tend to flow out of you in copious quantities and you may be a person who takes a long time to get to the point. You may be accused of being someone who “word vomits.” Yuck.
Since the word “prolix” is Latin based, then the words related to it all have cognates in Spanish and other Latin-based languages.
“Prolix” is “prolixo” in Portuguese, “prolisso” in Italian, and “prolixe” in French. If we make it a noun, in English it’s “prolixity” and means that you are using too many words in your speech or your writing. That word becomes “prolijidad” in Spanish (remember that I’ve pointed out here how where we use “-ity” at the ends of our nouns, Spanish will use “-idad”), “prolixidade” in Portuguese, “prolissità” in Italian, and “prolixité” in French.
A lesser-used noun form of the word in English is “prolixness.” If you write or speak in a very verbose or prolix manner, then you do that “prolixly.”
I tried to be a bit “prolix” in this week’s post simply to help stick the word into your own lexicons. Here’s an unnecessary abundance of Post-it notes to help you visualize the concept of “prolixity.”
This is the free “Cognate Cognizance” for December. If you aren’t a paying subscriber, you missed out on learning about the words “paladin,” “ambit,” and “insatiable” in November. Please give yourself the Christmas gift of knowledge and become a paying subscriber now, so you don’t miss any more weekly posts. It’s only a few dollars a month, and you can subscribe monthly or pay for an entire year. Thanks for your support.
Until next week (or next month).
Tammy Marshall
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