Literature Is Not Dead

I wrote the line “gave a wan smile” yesterday and, realizing that I wasn’t sure what wan meant, flew to the arms of Webster like a teenage girl flying to the arms of her loving vampire, or werewolf, or whatever violent nocturnal creature it is currently OK to encourage our young girls to snuggle with.

Wan (pronounced as one would pronounce “Han” of Han Solo): suggestive of poor health, lacking vitality. From the old English wann, for dark.

I’d used it correctly. My main character had been saving a seat for someone and had told someone else the seat was taken and gave her a “wan smile.” Lacking vitality! Exactly.

Better than finding I’d used the word properly, though, was perusing wan’s orthographic neighbors. On the same page I found some awesome proper(ish) nouns:

• Walpurgis Night
• Wampanoags
• Wandering Jew
• Wankel engine

As well as wallydraigle, walrus, wampum, wanderlust, wangle, wanton, and the onoemonapaic warble.

What a great dictionary page! Totally not wan!