Word of the day, 17th March 2015

Yesterday I unexpectedly got back in touch with another international friend from a few years ago, so I have been reminiscing /ˌrɛmɪˈnɪsɪŋ/ a bit.

Sadly I have a very poor memory, so I have been trying to find some old photos.  Nevertheless it’s a good word of the day; a bit more unusual and tricky perhaps than some of the others I’ve been sharing recently, but possibly also more useful:

reminisce /ˌrɛmɪˈnɪs/ (verb)
– to recall past experiences, events, etc.; to talk or write about old times, past experiences, etc. “I reminisced about old friends“.

The verb comes from the noun, “reminiscence” /ˌrɛmɪˈnɪsəns/, which, amongst other definitions, means “the act of recalling or narrating past experiences“, and can also mean the past experience itself that is recalled:  “He told us about his reminiscences of his early days at school.”

A related word is the adjective “reminiscent” /ˌrɛmɪˈnɪsənt/, which describes something that reminds of something else, or is comparable with something else:  “The sights were reminiscent of my childhood“. “Her robes were vaguely reminiscent of military dress“.

I find that reminiscing (thinking about past events) is often quite
sentimental /ˌsɛntɪˈmɛntəl/.
Do you?