Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0020675, Mon, 6 Sep 2010 02:10:29 +0400

Subject
from world to word: the alternative way
Date
Body
You can also get from "world" to "word" by making this round-the-word trip:

world - word - Lord - Nord - nod - God - Gog - bog - dog - log - slog - sloy - slon - slom - slam - Slav - slava - sliva - slova - slovo

I'm not a Tiger Woods of word golf. There could be less words between world and slovo (in fact, I deliberately chose a longer route and made more strokes than necessary). God means "year", Bog "God", dog "Great Dane", log "broad gully", slog "syllable" or "style", sloy "layer", slon "elephant" or "bishop" (chess-man), slom "demolition", slava "fame" or "glory", sliva "plum", slova "words" or "of word", slovo "word" in Russian.

Btw., in Vladimir Solov'yov's fable Efiopy i brevno ("The Ethiopians and a Log") a log is worshipped as if it were God (Russian Bog). The name Solov'yov comes from solovey ("nightingale"). Solovey = slovo + ey (to her); slovo = volos (hair); volos - golos (voice) - kolos (ear, spike); golos = Logos, kolos = sokol (falcon)

Alexey Sklyarenko

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