{"id":55536,"date":"2015-04-21T00:09:16","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T07:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=55536"},"modified":"2015-04-21T00:09:16","modified_gmt":"2015-04-21T07:09:16","slug":"mew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/55536","title":{"rendered":"Mew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tSome words are so complex and multifaceted that they deserve a day of special notoriety.<\/p>\n

I know, I know\u2014you’re already coming up with words like \u2026<\/p>\n

Floccinaucinihilipilification.<\/p>\n

Silly girl.<\/p>\n

While that is<\/em> the longest non-technical term in the English language, it has only one meaning:<\/p>\n

“The act of describing something as having little or no value.”<\/p>\n

Hmmm \u2026 touch\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Anyway, a profusion of letters really isn’t the point here.<\/p>\n

The word I’ve deemed worthy of today’s curtsy is …<\/p>\n

(wait for it) …<\/p>\n

Mew.<\/p>\n

No, dear, I’m not pulling your leg.<\/p>\n

What you may not yet know about “mew” (myoo<\/em>) is that it’s a master of deceptive simplicity. With just one syllable, mew manages to function as both noun and verb, and it has eight\u2014count ’em, EIGHT\u2014definitions.<\/p>\n

A master, I tell you.<\/p>\n

See for yourself:<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kitten mewing by Ron Whisky via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

1. Perhaps the most obvious meaning of mew is the high-pitched vocalization of a kitty cat (which is interchangeable as noun and verb).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Tatyana via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

2. It also denotes the cajoling call of a seagull as well as \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Tim Rains, Denali National Park and Preserve, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

3. the bird itself (namely, the Mew Gull).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by CheepShot via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

4. A “mew” or “mews” is a cage for hawks, commonly used during molting to keep birds relaxed and secure.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Christine Matthews via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

5. It also means to molt<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

6. In the UK, it’s used in plural form (mews) to refer to stables with living quarters or a row of apartments converted from stables.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Shravans14 via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

7. Similarly, a mew can name a place where one retires or hides.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Ian Paterson via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

8. And finally, behaving strictly as a verb, mew can mean to confine.<\/em><\/p>\n

There’s a lot about mew that you never knew, true?\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some words are so complex and multifaceted that they deserve a day of special notoriety. I know, I know\u2014you’re already coming up with words like \u2026 Floccinaucinihilipilification. Silly girl. While that is the longest non-technical term in the English language, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gleaming_word"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}