Turquoise

Because it has that deep first syllable, that exquisite twist in the middle, and then it rhymes with “poise.” (I also love the stone it stands for, but as is often the case with me, I may love the stone because I love the word, at least as much as the other way around. For example, I can’t tell if I really love drinking Shiraz, or tasting the word.)

Annie Gottlieb

January 13th, 2008 | January 13th, 2008 | % | (5 votes, average: 5.6 out of 10)
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1 comment to Turquoise

• alcofribas

  January 14, 2008 at 10:44 am

  from the French turc (Turkish); in the 17th century everything Turkish was the great fad; many of those things favored this color, which was as yet unnamed. Its name became “Turkish”, “turquoise”, the ending syllable telling us it is in pre-modern French, just as is “Illinois”. In modern French, “illinais,” “turquais” (no such words!).

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