Literary notes about word (AI summary)
The term “word” is used in literature in a remarkably multifaceted way, serving not only as a unit of language but also as a symbol of promise, identity, and even silence. In some works, a single word can invoke authority or signal commitment, as when characters pledge their honor or issue commands, underscoring its power beyond mere semantics [1, 2]. Authors also employ “word” to highlight silence or brevity, using it to set dramatic pauses or denote restraint, as seen when characters await a single, meaningful utterance [3, 4, 5]. Moreover, literary texts often explore the etymological and allegorical dimensions of “word,” linking it to deeper cultural or spiritual connotations—as in discussions of biblical language and origin [6, 7, 8]. Thus, whether as an emblem of legal debate, a quiet moment of reflection, or a token of promise and transformation, “word” functions as a versatile literary device capable of deepening the narrative’s emotional and thematic resonance [9, 10].
- No reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?’ “ ‘I have already given you my word.’ “ ‘Very good.’
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - I give you my word before God I will!
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Mr. Fogg patiently waited without a word.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - Poor Passepartout, quite crestfallen, followed his master without a word.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - For some moments not a word was spoken.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - The word Tarshish probably means sea-coast , from the Sanscrit tarischa , the sea.
— from The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian - Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent out from Jerusalem to Babylon.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - At his word the waters stood as a heap: and at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters: 39:23.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Lissa was so called, according to Bochart, from the Hebrew or Phœnician word liss , ‘a lion.’
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny - A word or group of words that changes or modifies the meaning of another word is called a modifier.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge