From Proto Indo European preti, with a sense of “recompense” or “payback”. Other descendants of preti include precious, price, prize, appraise, and depreciate. In Latin it became pretiare, and in late Latin preciare; in Old French it was preisier, and it was this form that entered English in the 1200’s, replacing the native Germanic words lof and hreth.

Praise starts with “p”, similar in meaning to the explosive start of “b”, but less explosive and more concerned with a particular place, a point, a location (the object of praise?). At that point a great deal of energy is focused (”r”) which is elastic and spreads out wide (long “a”), ending with a sort of directed flourish (”z”).

It’s interesting to compare this with some similar words:

• Prize, closely related to praise, has the same phonosemantics, except that the energy is oriented more specifically towards “mind and art”, and perhaps creative endeavors.
• Pray is identical to praise, as well, except there is no directed flourish at the end: there is only the point infused with energy, which then expands.

Thanks to Ali for suggesting this word of the day.

Clairvoyant was borrowed directly from French in 1671, and was originally used to simply mean “having insight”. In the 1840’s it came to mean “having pyschic ability”. Today it specifically means “being able to see objects or events psychicially”, while the newer term clairaudience (invented by analogy from clairvoyant) means “being able to hear objects or events psychically”.

In French, clairvoyant came from clair (”clear”) plus voyant “seeing”. Clair is related to clear and clarity, and is derived ultimately from the Proto Indo European root kele, meaning “shout”. Voyant is related to voyeur, vision and advise, and — surprise! — is derived from Proto Indo European root weid, which is also the ancestor of guide.

The primary stressed syllable of clairvoyant is “voy”, so that’s where I’ll start the phonosemantic analysis. “Voy” starts with smooth, vibrating energy (”v”) that is wholesome and grounded (long “o”) and carries on strong indefinitely (long “e”). This is the part of the word that corresponds to “seeing”. “Clair”, meanwhile, starts with a container (”k”) filled with light or air (”l”); its energy is flexible and spread out wide (long “a”) and it has great strength (”r”) — this is the part of the word that corresponds to the otherworldliness of the seeing. The final syllable, “-ant”, is found in lots of words and means “someone who does something”, as in supplicant, dedicant, adherant, etc. Its energy is balanced and flat (short “a”), which follows a path of noble purpose (”nt”).

Thanks to Jessa for suggesting this word of the day.

Beauty comes from the Proto Indo European root deu, which according to my American Heritage meant “to do, perform, show favor, revere”, though it’s beyond me to know how one root could mean all those things. It’s the ancestor of Latin bonus “good”, which gave us everything from bonanza to debonair, and others such as benediction, benefit, belladonna, embellish, and benign. From Latin it went to Old French as biaute, and entered Middle English as beaute.

Beauty starts out with a bang (”b”) and quickly hits a second consonant, “y”, even though you’d never guess it from the spelling. (Without the “y”, of course, beauty would just be booty.) The “y” gives the explosive “b” the additional qualities of energy, trust, and youth. This vibrancy is fast, flowing easily (long “u”), and resolves with a call, a temptation, a path forward (”t”). The last syllable, a long “e”, extends the energy without end.

Beauty, then, is something that bursts upon you (no wonder we sometimes call something beautiful striking!) and carries you away — calling to you, tempting you forward, into infinity.