Searching For The Most Beautiful Word in the English Language

Mar 30, 2025

∙ Paid

Cross-posted by Unmapped Storylands with Elif Shafak

"SERENDIPITY - pointing a friend towards 'good reads' in a bookshop this morning and seeing her choose Elif's latest novel felt so right - we went into the shop on the spur of the moment and to have been able to say, 'this one, choose this one' and know that she'll love reading it is joyous. Then to read this post about words, how we love them, how we choose them over other words felt like more serendipity! Everything is pointing to Elif today!"

- Alice Plants Poems

Qajar art from Iran, 18th-19th Century. I am fascinated by the vivid paintings produced during this period and how women were often at the forefront of this art.

We live in a strange world where we are told that the most beautiful word in the English language is….. ‘tariff’.

I would like to propose some other candidates, each with a fascinating etymolo…

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