The A-Z of Unusual Words (Part A)

UPDATE: The submission deadline for this contest is over. The contest that is currently open is the letter B. Winning entries (and why you should discover all of the challenge entrants) are posted here.

If you're late, submit anyway! I'm thinking about creating some final challenge with a special category for anyone who does all 26 letters. You don't have to submit on time for that, you just have to have it done before Z week is over.

I have decided to create a year-long challenge made of 26 individual challenges, one every two weeks. There will be two winners per contest, each receiving a $1 tip. I will then do a bonus contest (prize and details to be decided later) for a slightly larger amount (as long as people actually enter the contests) that rewards the best and most frequent of those who participated.

The Purpose

For a long time, I have chosen titles for my poetry based on science or Latin. I like to choose words that speak to the theme. My favorite titles are words with two meanings that both fit the poem. I absolutely love writing in those places where definitions intertwine.

I also do this because I like the precision of technical, cultural and regional words. Science is full of words with incredibly specific meanings. Every field of study contains its own set of unique labels describing subtle or invisible phenomena and structures. There are plenty of words in other languages that explain things that we don't describe in English very well (shadenfreude, for example). Families have their own shorthand and unique words that are running jokes or a result of terms from blended cultures. Words that began as fiction and ever-shifting slang terms (especially those no longer remembered) also fit into this category.

We all have a personal dictionary of words that only a few around us know the meaning of. This is an opportunity to share this vocabulary with others.

Contest Details

The challenge: Pick a word not in everyday use that starts with the letter of the week and define it. (Stuck finding an unusual word? Try here.) Explain your personal connection to the term or what draws you to the word. Then, write up to 100-125 words of microfiction or poetry. Use the word as your title.

The specifics: There will be 26 open contest periods, each lasting two weeks. The contest period for one letter closes when I post the contest for the next letter. I'll announce the winner of a previous letter during the in-between week. A $1 tip will be given for the best word and compelling reason that you chose it. A second $1 tip will be given to the best story or poem.

To enter: Each entry must include the following-

1. A mention of the contest at the top or in the subtitle (link appreciated, not required).
2. A word starting with the corresponding letter and its definition. You can use a dictionary definition or explain it in your own words.
3. A paragraph about why that word has meaning or interest to you. It can have a personal connection or you can really like the themes it evokes.
4. A microfiction or poem of up to 125 words with that word as the title.

Then, drop your entry in the comments section below so I know to look for it.

Letter A opens on September 3 and closes on September 17 when the letter B challenge comes. I will put an update at the top when it's closed and add a second line in the comments below saying the same thing.

The winners of the letter A challenge will be announced during the week of Sep 23.

Tips for winning

For the "best word" prize, I am looking for unique, fun, interesting words and a compelling statement about how you connect to it.

For the "best story/poem" prize, I'm looking for something beautiful and to see how you evoke the themes in the definition.

My Example

Anadromy: Refers to fish who are born in freshwater, leave and spend their lives at sea. They will return to the river or lake of their birth to spawn and often die.

My connection: I am a biologist in the Pacific Northwest, where salmon are the heart of local culture and environmental policy. I use this term almost daily in my job. I love the themes it evokes- the bodies of salmon must completely remake themselves to fit in one environment or the other, yet they never completely belong in either place. If you are a Pacific Ocean species of salmon, that homecoming is extraordinary, as many jump up waterfalls to return to their birthplace. It is also a death sentence, as the species on this coast (but not Atlantic salmon) spawn and die.

My Poem

Anadromy

I only remember

the place of my childhood

by scent.

I have been gone

a hundred high tides

or more

but still the heady perfume

of mineral groundwater

and decaying cedar boughs

reminds me

of another home.

Someday I will swim

toward this scent

and my silvery armor

will shift into

a final costume of greens and corals.

But for now

I do not belong there

and I will follow

the current

into the vast, depthless

blue.

----

Good luck to anyone who tries my challenge. I look forward to reading your entries.