Friday, June 27, 2008

Some Words are more filled with imaginary cake than others

Word of the Day

Cockaigne \kah-KAYN\, noun: An imaginary land of ease and luxury.

Outside, in the dark, a wobbly patch of life upon the blue snow, the deer perhaps browsed, her soft blob of a nose rapturously sunk in the chilly winter greenery, her modest brain-stem steeped in some dream of a Cockaigne for herbivores.
-- John Updike, Toward the End of Time

Everyone was seeking renewal, a golden century, a Cockaigne of the spirit.
-- Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum

Cockaigne comes from Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne "(land of) plenty," ultimately adapted or derived from a word meaning "cake."

I am definitely seeking a Cockaigne of the spirit (if you have any hints for finding same, please let me know)......... Have a good long weekend all my Canadian friends.

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