limn : (v) (poetic/literary) to suffuse or highlight something with a bright color or light
The sunlight streamed through the stained-glass window, limning the church with red and gold.
I think that there are certain words meant only to be written. That is, there are some words that don’t belong in conversation. They’re more elegant on paper than in speech.
It’s a theory in progress, but I can think of no better example than limn. Can you imagine saying it? Just casually throwing it into conversation? “Man, the sun is really limning the yard right now” or “yeah, the beach is so romantic at night, with the waves limned by the moon” just don’t have the same effect.
It’s a beautiful word; perhaps that beauty is what makes it unsuitable for speech. Perhaps all gorgeous words work better in print.
Or perhaps it’s simply that these words are less frequently used in speech and therefore seem more out of place. I don’t know. What do you think?
