Nautical Volcabulary

As LEVIATHANs, I think it is very important that we cultivate an expansive nautical vocabulary. Just as "'Pha," the English-speaking dolphin hero of The Day of the Dolphin, showed us the power of language to unite man and sea-creature, so too must we learn the language of the sea if we ever want to understand the inner-workings of the heart.

In light of this, I offer the following sea-themed volcabulary word (Webster's August 27 Word of the Day).

skylark \SKYE-lark\ verb

1 : to run up and down the rigging of a ship in sport
*2 : frolic, sport

Did you know?
As far as we know, people were skylarking at sea before they were larking on land. "Skylarking" was originally a term used by seamen for their scampering about on the rigging of ships. The first known use of the word in print is from 1809, though the term was part of the sailor's vernacular before that. "Lark," meaning "to engage in harmless fun or mischief," didn?t get jotted down until 1813. Whether or not the meanings of these words came about from the song and/or behavior of birds is uncertain. One theory of the verb "lark" is that it began as a misinterpretation of the verb "lake," which in British dialect means "to play or frolic."

Although I realize the temptation to use more land-locked words as you scamper about the riggings of your daily lives (in sport, of course), please endeavor to use the word "skylark" at least 5 times today so as to make it a part of your working vocabulary. After all, if we don't use the language of the sea, who will?