Wednesday Word: Propinquity
propinquity |prəˈpiNGkwətē| noun1 the state of being close to someone or something; proximity: he kept his distance as though afraid propinquity might lead him into temptation.2 technical close kinship.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French propinquité, from Latin propinquitas, from propinquus ‘near,’ from prope ‘near to.’
I acquired this word curtesy of P.G. Wodehouse. Propinquity, desired and otherwise, is a major theme of his books. And pigs.
Characters in British books have such great names. Like Gussy Fink-Nottle. American books suffer from a shortage of Fink-Nottles and the like. Somebody much more assiduous than me could do a scholarly research about the relationship between national character and naming of fictional characters. I've often wondered how Terry Pratchett named the denizens of Discworld.