Look it up in the dictionary

Learn a little new vocabulary every day

Everything old is new again. Dumber phones, human contact, the dictionary.

Last week, my daughter was doing her homework, and she said, “what does self-emancipated mean?”

“It’s an adjective to describe someone who has freed themself.” I went to the dining room table and peered over her shoulder. (She’s studying the Civil War in the United States.)

What does invaluable mean in this sentence? “The escapees proved invaluable to Union commanders.”

a) controversial

b) demanding

c) priceless

d) self-emancipated

“Is the answer self-emancipated?” she asked me.

“I’m not going to tell you,” I said. “Why don’t you look it up in the dictionary?”

I felt a tinge of guilt. At some point, I had bought her brother and sister their own dictionaries. It had been a rite of passage for them as readers and writers. Poor third child didn’t have her own dictionary. She could have looked up invaluable online, but instead we went to get her brother’s dictionary.

“Go ahead.” I plonked it down on the table.

She frowned but started flipping the pages. I couldn’t help but think of the dictionary I used growing up - brown leather, tiny print, thin paper - and the set of 26 Funk and Wagnalls encyclopedias I spent hours reading.

Finally, she arrived at invaluable.

in*val*u*a*ble adj. Of inestimable value; priceless: invaluable paintings; invaluable help. —in*val'u*a*ble*ness n.—in*val'u*a*bly adv.

“It’s priceless,” she said, smiling.

Out of habit, I looked at the five entries above (invagination, invalid n., invalid adj., invalidate, invalidism), the five below (invariable, invariant, invasion, invasive, invective). I’ve never heard the word invagination before. I was reminded of invective. Learned little new vocabulary ✅

Recently a friend asked me how to become a better writer, and I didn’t know what to say. While reading the dictionary, the beginning of an answer occurred to me.

Step 1: Get a real dictionary.

Step 2: Look up every word you’re not 100% sure of.

Step 3: Read up five definitions, then down five definitions.

Step 4: Learn a little new vocabulary every day.