10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
Look what you made us do
It’s us. Hi. We’re the dictionary, it’s us. Everybody agrees (and not just at teatime)! And lest you think that it’s all chants and madrigals in our earbuds, we lexicographers are not immune to the occasional earworm, including those penned by a certain singer-songwriter you may be familiar with by the name of Taylor Swift. In fact, we are told that her songs often send listeners to our august pages to look up some of the more unfamiliar words featured in her song titles and lyrics. If you count yourself among such listeners, dear reader, then today might just be the best day. Here’s a list of 10 Swiftean words and some interesting facts about them. Are you... ready for it?
Song Title/Album: “illicit affairs” / folklore
Lyric: “And that’s the thing about illicit affairs / And clandestine meetings and longing stares”
Definition: done in a private place or way : done secretly
About the Word: Clandestine is an adjective that is often used as a substitute for secret and covert, and it is commonly applied to actions that involve secrecy maintained for an evil, illicit (as in “illicit affairs”), or unauthorized purpose. It comes to English by way of Middle French, from Latin clandestinus, which is itself from Latin clam, meaning “secretly.” Although people involved in clandestine activities tend to clam up when asked about them, the bivalve clam has no relation to the Latin clam, but comes instead from the Old English word clamm, meaning “bond” or “fetter.”
Song Title/Album: “Mastermind” / Midnights
Lyric: “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian ‘cause I care”
Definition: using clever lies and tricks in order to get or achieve something : clever and dishonest
About the Word: While inspiring an adjective (such as Swiftean) may seem like a fine way to achieve linguistic immortality, it must be said that many words taken from people’s names are not as complimentary. Machiavellian—which describes things marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith—comes from the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the author of the most famous treatise on bare-knuckled politics ever published, The Prince, which brought him a reputation as an immoral cynic and even a teacher of evil.
Song Title/Album: “ivy” / evermore
Lyric: “In from the snow / Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow”
Definition: strikingly bright, radiant, or clear
About the Word: Incandescent first lit up the English language toward the end of the 18th century, at a time when scientific experiments involving heat and light were being conducted on an increasingly frequent basis. An object that glowed at a high temperature (such as a piece of coal) was incandescent. By the mid-1800s, the incandescent lamp—aka the lightbulb—had been invented; it contains a filament which gives off light when heated by an electric current. Incandescent is the modern offspring of a much older parent, the Latin verb candēre, meaning “to glow" (which also gave us the word candle), and today has several figurative senses, including “very impressive, successful, or intelligent” (as in “an incandescent concert performance”).
Song Title/Album: “Anti-Hero” / Midnights
Lyric: “Did you hear my covert narcissism / I disguise as altruism / Like some kind of congressman?”
Definition: feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other people and a lack of selfishness
About the Word: Altruism refers to a quality possessed by people whose focus is on something other than themselves, and its root reveals the object of those generous tendencies. Altruism comes from the French word altruisme, which in turn comes from autrui, meaning “other people.” In “Anti-Hero,” the song’s narrator suggests that they, like some politicians, are a do-gooder not out of the goodness of their heart, but to satisfy their ego. Seems rather Machiavellian!
Song Title/Album: “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” / Red (Taylor’s Version)
Lyric: “You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes”
Definition: not trying to get attention or praise for yourself or your abilities : modest
About the Word: To be self-effacing is to be modest or humble. Often that involves not taking oneself too seriously—being all too well aware of one’s flaws and faults and unafraid of poking mild fun at them. The “self-effacing” joke referenced in verse four of the extended version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” would be just such a self-directed dig, even if we don’t know its nature—though if it appeals to Dad it could be a dad joke.
Song Title/Album: “The Albatross” / The Tortured Poets Department
Lyric: TBD
Definition: a continuing problem that makes it difficult or impossible to do or achieve something
About the Word: Albatrosses are exceedingly large seabirds, some species having a wingspan as much as 11 feet across. They are magnificent gliders, capable of staying aloft for hours at a time without flapping their wings, and tend to remain almost entirely at sea, typically coming ashore only to breed. In Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the titular mariner kills an albatross that has been following his ship, bringing down a curse that leads to the death of all other crew members. As a punishment, the crew hang the dead bird from the mariner’s neck, and he remains alive to witness the ship’s fate unfold. This potent emblem led to the coining of a metaphorical meaning for albatross as something that causes anxiety or guilt or that burdens and encumbers.
At the time of this writing, Taylor Swift’s song “The Albatross” has not yet been released (as a bonus track on some editions of her album The Tortured Poets Department), so it remains to be seen whether the song is about the literal seabird or something that causes anxiety or guilt. It’s possible also, we suppose, that Swift could be employing yet another sense of albatross, which in golf refers to a score of three under par made on a hole. We are not fortune tellers.
Song Title/Album: “Hits Different” / Midnights
Lyric: “Bet I could still melt your world / Argumentative, antithetical dream girl”
Definition: directly opposite or opposed
About the Word: The adjective antithetical and noun antithesis come from the Greek verb antitithenai (“to oppose”). The oldest sense of antithesis refers to a language pattern that contrasts parallel ideas, as in “action, not words” or "they promised liberty and provided oppression,” and antithetical originally referred to anything that was marked by such antithesis. For example, you could say “The phrase ‘action, not words’ is an antithetical construction.” It is more common, however, for antithesis to mean “the exact opposite” and for antithetical to mean “directly opposite,” as in “his shy demeanor seems antithetical to his dream of being a famous actor.” Usually antithetical is paired with to, as in the previous example, but in Taylor Swift’s song “Hits Different,” she seems to be using the word creatively in a way similar to oppositional.
Song Title/Album: “illicit affairs” / folklore
Lyric: “Take the words for what they are / A dwindling, mercurial high”
Definition: very lively and quick, or changing moods quickly and often
About the Word: The Roman god Mercury was the messenger and herald of the gods and also the god of merchants and thieves (his counterpart in Greek mythology is Hermes). He was noted for his eloquence, swiftness, and cunning, and the Romans named what appeared to them to be the fastest-moving planet in his honor. Mercurial comes from the Latin adjective mercurialis, meaning “of or relating to Mercury.” Mercurial means both “changing moods quickly and often” (as in “a mercurial personality”) and “very lively and quick” (as in “a mercurial wit”). In our reading, Swift’s use in “illicit affairs” seems closest to the “quick” sense, perhaps with shades of fleeting.
Song Title/Album: “the lakes” / folklore
Lyric: “Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?”
Definition: a sad poem or song : a poem or song that expresses sorrow for someone who is dead
About the Word
Both elegy and eulogy (used in the same “the lakes” lyric) may be used about writing or speech in remembrance of a person who has passed away, and this semantic overlap creates the potential for confusion. Elegy (which may be traced to the Greek word elegos, “song of mourning”) commonly refers to a song or poem lamenting one who is dead; the word may also refer somewhat figuratively to a nostalgic poem, or to a kind of musical composition. While eulogy is also commonly found referring to words about the deceased, its basic meaning, both in English and in the Greek language from which it was borrowed, is “praise.” Formed from the Greek roots eu “good” and logos “speech,” a eulogy is praise given for one who is either living or dead. If you are praising your partner’s unsurpassed beauty or commending the virtues of the deceased at a funeral, you are delivering a eulogy; if you are composing a lamenting reminiscence about a person who has long since passed, you are writing an elegy. If an elegy also happens to eulogize, then yes—that could certainly be construed as romantic, like, say a red rose growing up out of ice frozen ground.
Song Title/Album: “cardigan” / folklore
Lyric: “… I felt like I was an old cardigan / Under someone’s bed / You put me on and said I was your favorite”
Definition: a usually collarless sweater or jacket that opens the full length of the center front
About the Word: As sweaters, cardigans often evoke snuggly vibes and warm fuzzies, but the word cardigan has a more martial backstory. The garment was named after James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of Cardigan, who with his inherited wealth personally outfitted his military regiment with what came to be called cardigan jackets.
