Wednesday Words (3)

Each Wednesday I present to you a loveable word and what it means. These are words that look or sound pleasing. This week I give you…

Dirigible.

This pleasingly bubbly word was suggested by Steph Wetherell. It is an adjective used to describe something that is easily directed or steered.It is also a noun, meaning a type of airship.

I am reliably informed by Jenny Hickson that Harry Potter fans will recognise the word from the ‘dirigible plums’ loved by the Lovegood family. These plums float above their plant like mini-airships and are claimed by some in the wizarding world to enhance the ability of somebody to accept extraordinary things – i.e. to steer their thoughts towards the extraordinary. So now you know. In our Muggle world it is word from the late 16th-century, coming from the Latin dirigere (to direct).