Poetry Society of America chooses most beautiful word in English language

That’s a fine choice.

More than 1,000 Scholars and scribes from the Poetry Society of America have chosen the most beautiful word in the English language: diaphanous.

Merriam-Webster defines diaphanous as something “characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through,” as in translucent, or constituted of “extreme delicacy of form.”

To create a consensus, Poetry Society of America put multiple words up for vote and diaphanous came in first with 17%.

Ethereal, meaning otherworldy, took home second with 12% and mellifluous — something sweet, smooth or pleasant — was the third top word with 10%.

The meaning of beautiful words change over time, a concept known as semantic shift, a component of linguistic evolution driven by cultural and technological changes.

Poets choose beautiful words through “phonaesthetics,” the branch of linguistics and psychology that studies the subjective pleasantness or unpleasantness of a word.

Words comprised of L, M and S letters were popular choices, including some loan words from Latin languages: luminous, amour, corazón (Spanish for “heart”), saudade, Portuguese for melancholic nostalgia, mélange and désolée all populated on the list, according to the Times.

“One of the paradoxes of language is that it is easier to hear the distinctive music of a language you don’t know than one you do,” said Matt Brogan, executive director of the poetry society.

“Unless,” he added, “you are a poet. Poets are keenly attuned to the sound effects of language — the ways in which consonants and vowels combine, repeat, clash and echo to give a word or phrase its soundtrack.”

Some words may phonetically seem beautiful but delineate from delicate connotations, such as “diarrhea” or “euthanasia,” which are also on the list, and were perhaps sardonically chosen.

Scholars and scribes from the Poetry Society of America have chosen the most beautiful word in the English language: “diaphanous.” M.Nergiz – stock.adobe.com

The meaning of beautiful words change over time, a concept known as semantic shift, a component of linguistic evolution driven by cultural and technological changes.

Ultimately, while “diaphanous” captures the delicate beauty of language, not all modern coinages possess such grace. 

The current obsession with “looksmaxxing,” for instance, remains a costly irony: chasing an “ethereal” aesthetic through clinical optimization often reveals little more than a profound deficit of personality.