Etymology Practice

When coming into this course, we had to use the method of Etymology to help us break down the meaning and origin of specific words we had to choose. These words were chosen based on the coherence and impact they had on my Project Proposal but at the same time, we either chose these words blindly not knowing the full meaning or we understood a little bit of what that word meant.

MY CHOSEN FIVE WORDS (Task I)

Essense – Mellifluent – Metamorphosis – Place – Impress

I have chosen these 5 words not because I know the meaning, but because I feel these words draw a connection to my project proposal. As I write this, I do not know the full extent of its definition or the origins of the word; but as I progress, I will come to understand and draw the connection between these words and my project proposal.

Of course, as stated these words are currently unfamiliar but the reason I drew towards these words was that they captivated me. Not knowing the word but I could somewhat make a sense out of it, which then drove my curiosity of “What Does It Mean?”

I think for words we see and hear every day, we don’t fully comprehend the definition or even the origin of the word. I think that element of ‘Not Knowing’ creates curiosity, which leads us to knowledge and applying it within our Project Proposal to create what Manulani Meyer suggests as “Epistemology. The Idea of Knowledge and the Difference between Knowledge and Knowing.”

INTUITIVE WORD ASSOCIATION (Task II)

This segment is looking at our chosen words without any prior knowledge of what it means and to view these words from a different perspective. Essentially, We are breaking down the word and creating other words that associate with what “I think” that word relates to.

These Following Images are the words I think about when breaking the overall word down:

ESSENCE

Without knowing what ‘Essence’ means, these are the words that Intuitively come to my head when I hear or see this word. The word sounds like a ‘Scent’ or ‘A hint of’ type of feeling that when said; makes me think about my project and my main focus being the Consumer but also that ‘hint of’ including the aspects of Businesses, Brands, etc.

MELLIFLUENT

This is the first time I have heard of the word ‘Mellifluent‘ and I’m excited to see the true definition of what this word means. As for now, I broke down the word and noticed the ‘Fluent’ aspect of the word.

This was interesting because to be ‘Fluent’ in something and in my opinion, I believe it would have to be something that was perfected. To be ‘Fluent’ you would have studied to a point where you mastered a particular area that you know very well.

In saying that, The clear connection that was made here was the ‘Fluency’ of how well my project would translate and flow within the current status of our digital societal age. To be fluent is to be natural, it’s to flow like water. This is my analysis of the word ‘Melli-Fluent.’

METAMORPHOSIS | PART I

So this is part one of the word ‘Metamorphosis’ as the word is very long but I also feel like I can break down both words ‘Meta’ and ‘Morphosis.’

When hearing this word as an Individual who spent a lot of time Gaming before my master’s course, We used this word to describe the current state of the game. So in context, we would say “Oh why are you using that character, he isn’t meta.” which simply implies that it’s not the ‘current’ thing to do, or it’s not viable as an option.

In saying that, these are the words that I feel connect with the word ‘Meta.’ I feel like the word could potentially correlate to Energy or the ‘State’ of something as well.

METAMORPHOSIS | PART II

This is Part 2 of the word ‘Metamorphosis’ where I will break down the word ‘Morphosis.’

When I hear the word “Morphosis” I can clearly picture something ‘Morph’ into something. As I continue working on my project proposal and my research, there is no doubt that my project will start to ‘Morph’ into something new and explorative.

The same connections can be made to things like Butterflies and how they eventually morph into beautiful insects and we can go even further and talk about the process it takes from a Caterpillar to a Butterfly. The amount of time it takes to eventually ‘Morph’ into something is the correlation I’m creating between my project and this word.

It clearly resonates a lot with me because I know the potential I carry in this project and it’s just in a caterpillar form, but its the process and the research along with many other factors that will contribute to this idea and help ‘Morph’ this project proposal into something beautiful.

PLACE

When I hear the word ‘Place’ I think about Positioning. I think about ‘A Spot’ in town where I love to kick it or someplace that produces the confidence I need within my project proposal.

Making the correlation between my project proposal about Consumerism and Interactivity is a ‘place’ I know I can exceed in and be confident about. It’s a project where I know there is an existing ‘place’ for it to succeed, an existing market that just hasn’t had the opportunity to be explored to an extent.

IMPRESS

When breaking down this word, I stemmed from the idea of ‘Press.’ I did find the word a little funny as when its split, it creates ‘Im-press’ and to be ‘pressed’ in our society means to be angry about a particular situation which is the complete opposite of what “Impress” means.

When I hear this word it automatically makes me think about first dates, first impressions, first engagements, and also to ‘show-off’ in a sense.

Now I view it as something that is to ‘apply pressure’ to areas of my project. Its to make a stamp within the future UI/UX Industry. Its to create the needed stains within the Industry for us to question and explore things that weren’t asked or known about. Its challenging the core of my project proposal and just stemming off from the word ‘Press’ allowed me to critically think and ask myself “Would anyone care about this Project?” “Is it a project created from my own ignorance and not realizing the worldly views that already exist about User Interactivity and Consumerism?”

The word “Impress” has ‘I’m’ before ‘Press.’ The connection of putting yourself at the forefront first and really asking those personal questions before you can start applying that needed ‘pressure.’ Once the 2 connect, I know my project will Impress others.

WORD RESEARCH (Task III)

This is the next segment of exploring the 5 words that I have chosen and gives me a chance to see the true definition behind the words I picked.

“ESSENCE”

FROM THE DICTIONARY:

‘the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features’

‘Philosophy. the inward nature, true substance, or constitution of anything, as opposed to what is accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc.’

‘something that exists, especially a spiritual or immaterial entity.’

FROM THE ETYMOLOGY:

from Latin essentia “being, essence,” the general sense of “basic element of anything”

FROM THE THESAURUS:

noun – Heart, Significance or noun – Distillate, Concentrate

form, point, base, structure, soul, quality, aspect, core, element, substance, root, nature.

‘ESSENCE’ WORD REFLECTION

Upon discovering that my predictions of the words I drew from ‘Essence’ were a little different, It still remains as the underlying message of ‘Basic’ or the ‘Features’ of something which is still in line with my project.

I believe also the synonyms from the thesaurus is a great way to analyze my project as well, I resonate with the words such as core, substance, form and aspect as they truly embody what I hope to bring forth with this project.

To have some substance within my project and focus on the core and different aspects of interactivity and start to form and align my project accordingly.

“MELLIFLUENT”

FROM THE DICTIONARY:

having a smooth rich flow a mellifluous voice.

filled with something (such as honey) that sweetens mellifluous confections.

FROM THE ETYMOLOGY:

“flowing like honey, smoothly or sweetly flowing,” c. 1600, from French mellifluent”

“early 15c., “sweet as honey, pleasing, sweetly or smoothly flowing”

FROM THE THESAURUS:

“as in fluent”

natural, vocal, flowing, ready, eloquent, easy, well-versed, quick, smooth, liquid.

‘MELLIFLUENT’ WORD REFLECTION

Upon discovering what the word ‘Mellifluent’ means, Its essentially another word for ‘Mellifluous’ which in the dictionary’s term defines it as “to having a smooth rich flow or filled with something that sweetens confections.“

Etymology describes the word as “flowing like honey.” In my opinion, I feel that this would better suit my project once the research has started to take place and I’m finding connections and relations between interactivity and the engagements of consumers but only then would I feel that the project would start to be “Mellifluent.”

The Thesaurus is where the word ‘Mellifluent’ starts to relate back to the words I had Imagined and for good reason because in the thesaurus, it states the synonyms are being drawn from the very word ‘Fluent.’ As said, I can relate to these synonyms as they match well with my project and I really love that word ‘Natural’ and ‘Flowing’ because I feel like to create passionately and creatively, you need it to flow naturally.

To be very honest, this was the complete opposite of what I had imagined for the definition of this particular word. As the synonyms start to match, The definition of the word itself had me stumbled and this is definitely challenged my understanding of the word and I personally don’t like it.

Oh well, As said in my introduction, this is an opportunity to be uncomfortable and grow in a challenging situation like this. It will benefit me as a designer and It will definitely increase my curiosity in seeing how it will come to fruition for my project.

“METAMORPHOSIS”

FROM THE DICTIONARY:

“a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.”

“any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.”

“a form resulting from any such change.”

FROM THE ETYMOLOGY:

1530s, “change of form or structure, action or process of changing in form, to transform, to be transfigured,”

FROM THE THESAURUS:

noun – conversion, transformation

change, alteration, evolution, transform, translation, rebirth, mutation

‘METAMORPHOSIS’ WORD REFLECTION

This word has exceeded my expectation. Understanding that the process of research and methodologies will make my project proposal change or be transformed in different ways. Understanding that questions I had or the current knowledge I have will eventually ‘Metamorphosize’ into an area of continuous alterations and transformation.

This is the exact idea i had about the word ‘Metamorphosis’ and it fits well within my realm of exploring various areas of Interactivity and the engagement of users.

From the Thesaurus, the synonyms of changing, evolution, and alterations are the words that resonate well within my project aims.

“PLACE”

FROM THE DICTIONARY:

“a particular portion of space, whether of definite or indefinite extent.”

“space in general”

FROM THE ETYMOLOGY:

c. 1200, “space, dimensional extent, room, area,” from Old French place “place, spot”

mid-15c., place, “to determine the position of;” also “to put (something) in a particular place or position,”

FROM THE THESAURUS:

noun – location with purpose or function

area, position, distance, situation, home, zone, field, position, spot.

‘PLACE’ WORD REFLECTION

When discovering the meaning of the word place, It was a little different from what I expected. The dictionary defines ‘place’ as a particular portion of space, whether definite or indefinite extent. Does that mean the dictionary is eluding to not just a physical place but also a place that is untangible? or a place that’s spiritual and within us?

I think the idea of this ‘place’ relating to my project makes me think about the type of ‘space’ I want to exist within. Do I want my project to be digital and have it exist within the virtual/digital place of existence? or do I want to have my project focus on interactivity within shopping malls and have real-world/live engagements with consumers in a tangible way?

I like the thoughts that the word brings into my project and It aligns so perfectly. The synonyms being the position, situation, field, and area are words that connect a lot to the questions I have right now that this word gave me. I never saw my project in this light and I love that this word essentially ‘woke me up.’

“IMPRESS”

FROM THE DICTIONARY:

“to affect deeply or strongly in mind or feelings; influence in opinion”

“to fix deeply or firmly on the mind or memory, as ideas or facts”

FROM THE ETYMOLOGY:

late 14c., “have a strong effect on the mind or heart, to stamp deeply in the mind,”

“act of impressing” (1590s), also “characteristic mark” (1580s)

FROM THE THESAURUS:

verb – influence

affect, inspire, provoke, touche, excite, awe, move, enforce

‘IMPRESS’ WORD REFLECTION

Discovering the true meaning behind this word is also a little different to what I expected. Although In particular, I love the etymology definition of this word ‘Impress.’

It states “have a strong effect on the mind or heart. To stamp deeply in the mind.” Wow. I can’t tell you how relevant this definition aligns with my project and its main goal.

Which is to create an Immersive Interaction between a product and a consumer that influences their cognitive mind. To be able to have a consumer navigate a website and instantly make a connection because of the interactivity that created the impression and stamped it deeply within their minds.