Cirrus@Austlit

'Rolling a hitherto unknown word off the tongue or rediscovering an under-used word can be very satisfying in, I suspect, the manner of young children who seem to savour words for their sound. However, when you consider the importance of those words, those 26 letters employed to craft them cannot be over estimated : they are the building blocks of expression, and lifters of communication, thought, ideas, instruction ... all arranged in a myriad of combinations to produce, according to the 2nd edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary, 171,486 words in current use. Add the many languages around the world and the concept is mind-blowing.' (Editorial)