“Funambulists”
Are “Well Balanced” People, who
Always walk the “Straight and Narrow”
And only get “High” on Wire!
~ Text of my favorite mug1
Are “Well Balanced” People, who
Always walk the “Straight and Narrow”
And only get “High” on Wire!
~ Text of my favorite mug1
Funambulist (fyo͞oˈnambyələst/)
Yes, I am a word nerd. I love semantics, and this is a word worth savoring. Humor me. Let it roll around on your tongue:
Funambulist.
It’s a word I’ve used occasionally in posts, and even defined briefly in Learning the Ropes, but since it’s one of my favorite words I want us to take a minute and really explore it--take it apart, put it back together, and see what overtones it unwittingly carries.
It comes from two Latin base words: funis + ambulare2.
Funis means rope3. You may recognize the root in the word funicular (especially if you've been to Pittsburg); it's basically a train/rail car pulled up an incline by a cable4. In anatomy a funiculus is a bundle of nerves5 and funisitis is an inflammation or infection of the umbilical cord6.
Ambulare means to walk7 It is the root of amble8 and ambulatory9, and while American parents prefer to take their infants for strolls in strollers, British parents perambulate10 with their offspring in perambulators11 (pram for short). I must admit to having the phrase "agitated perambulation" stuck in my head for days after reading the book A Lady of Quality by my favorite author Georgette Heyer.
To return from my word exploration tangents: we put the two pieces together and, yes, a funambulist is a “rope-walker.”
Usually referring to tightrope walkers, it accurately applies to any rope walker across the spectrum of tensionings: tightrope, slackropes, and even the new kids on the block, the slackliners.
"Funambulism," or "rope-walking" really doesn’t evoke the same sort of compelling emotional response as do tightrope or highwire. That might not be such a bad thing: it is free of all those connotations that I complained about in A Hobby Hijacked.
The word instead takes a very different direction in most people's mental associations. Another word lover, to whom I am greatly indebted for many of the ideas in this post12, said it best: “…you can’t escape the sense of fun in funambulist – it’s such a strong taste right up front.”
I couldn’t agree more. Funambulists shed the focus on fear and focus instead on the fun. The fun of defying gravity, doing the seemingly impossible, and perfecting an art that is as old as the Latin from which the word is built. I certainly have a great deal of fun ambling along be it on webbing, rope, or wire.
Funambulist. A fantastic word, full of Latin and full of fun.
1 "Tightrope Walker's Mug" by WordPress
2 "funambulist" from Dictionary.com
3 "funis" from Latin-Dictionary.org
4 "funicular" from Dictionary.com
5 "funiculus" from Dictionary.com
6 "funisitis" from mediLexicon
7 "ambulare" from Latin-Dictionary.org
8 "amble" from Dictionary.com
9 "ambulatory" from Dictionary.com
10 "perambulate" from Dictionary.com
11 "perambulator" from Dictionary.com (British dictionary definitions)
12 "Word Tasting Notes: funambulist" from Sesquitoica.
Note: This post is, admittedly, incredibly similar to this one. I generally try not to reinvent the wheel, but I really love this word, so I hope I have something to add either in background or content to what has already been done.
Yes, I am a word nerd. I love semantics, and this is a word worth savoring. Humor me. Let it roll around on your tongue:
Funambulist.
It’s a word I’ve used occasionally in posts, and even defined briefly in Learning the Ropes, but since it’s one of my favorite words I want us to take a minute and really explore it--take it apart, put it back together, and see what overtones it unwittingly carries.
It comes from two Latin base words: funis + ambulare2.
 |
| The Duquesne Incline funicular, Pittsburgh. Source: Wikipedia |
Ambulare means to walk7 It is the root of amble8 and ambulatory9, and while American parents prefer to take their infants for strolls in strollers, British parents perambulate10 with their offspring in perambulators11 (pram for short). I must admit to having the phrase "agitated perambulation" stuck in my head for days after reading the book A Lady of Quality by my favorite author Georgette Heyer.
To return from my word exploration tangents: we put the two pieces together and, yes, a funambulist is a “rope-walker.”
Usually referring to tightrope walkers, it accurately applies to any rope walker across the spectrum of tensionings: tightrope, slackropes, and even the new kids on the block, the slackliners.
"Funambulism," or "rope-walking" really doesn’t evoke the same sort of compelling emotional response as do tightrope or highwire. That might not be such a bad thing: it is free of all those connotations that I complained about in A Hobby Hijacked.
I couldn’t agree more. Funambulists shed the focus on fear and focus instead on the fun. The fun of defying gravity, doing the seemingly impossible, and perfecting an art that is as old as the Latin from which the word is built. I certainly have a great deal of fun ambling along be it on webbing, rope, or wire.
Funambulist. A fantastic word, full of Latin and full of fun.
1 "Tightrope Walker's Mug" by WordPress
2 "funambulist" from Dictionary.com
3 "funis" from Latin-Dictionary.org
4 "funicular" from Dictionary.com
5 "funiculus" from Dictionary.com
6 "funisitis" from mediLexicon
7 "ambulare" from Latin-Dictionary.org
8 "amble" from Dictionary.com
9 "ambulatory" from Dictionary.com
10 "perambulate" from Dictionary.com
11 "perambulator" from Dictionary.com (British dictionary definitions)
12 "Word Tasting Notes: funambulist" from Sesquitoica.
Note: This post is, admittedly, incredibly similar to this one. I generally try not to reinvent the wheel, but I really love this word, so I hope I have something to add either in background or content to what has already been done.
