Eunoia - what a nice word.

From the wikipedia:

Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes. It comes from the Greek word εύνοια which means well mind.

It is a rarely used medical term referring to a state of normal mental health.

In book eight of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term (in Greek) to refer to the kind and benevolent feelings of goodwill a spouse has which form the basis for the ethical foundation of human life.[1]

Eunoia is also the title of a lipogram by Christian Bök which consists of chapters written using words limited to a single vowel. Bök defines "Eunoia" as “beautiful thinking.”

I like the concept of beautiful thinking, based on benevolent feelings and goodwill.

I had heard of it before but was reminded of it when travelling in the car, listening to an interview with Christian Bok on Kim Hill's radio show. You can listen to it here
Buy an audio recording of Eunoia from Fishpond.

Comments

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