words take root

I like words; always have. True story: I used to read the dictionary. What I remember is looking up a word but then getting intrigued by nearby entries, so if you call that reading, then that’s what I did. I learned that words have roots, and, like a tree grows and branches off in different directions, so do words. Studying Latin in high school further strengthened my understanding of cognates – words that share roots even across languages. Think of English night, Spanish noches, French noir and German nacht. They are cognates. For that matter, the word cognate has its roots in the prefix co- (together) + gnātus (past participle of gnāscī, later nasci (be born)). Now, I'm thinking of cooperate or nascent. See? This is how it is for me.

Playing with words was always fun but I’ve also developed a sense of the importance of words. If you pick up any newspaper these days – pardon me, open up any news story (There! See how language adapts and changes?) – you see lots of language chosen to engage you one way or another. Do you try to avoid being political? Well, politic really means having to do with civic affairs, deriving from polítēs meaning citizen. So, if you consider yourself a citizen of your town, city, state or country, then you are political, plain and simple. Perhaps you confuse political with partisan. A partisan is a person – that is to say, citizen, a member of the body politic – who takes part in or sides with another. A partisan is a loyal adherent or supporter. The word has its roots in the Latin pars which means a division of a whole, a portion.

Consider these three headlines from Sunday, January 18, 2026.

• BUSTED: Jake Tapper SHREDS Kristi Noem on Live TV 

• Noem defends Minnesota ICE operations, says judge’s order “didn’t change anything”

• Noem scolds CBS host for naming ICE agent who shot Renee Good on air

The job of a headline writer – and, yes, that is a specific job in media and is separate from the reporter who writes the story – is to entice readers to read. Each of these stories is reporting on the exact same event. So while it is important to choose your words carefully, remember that someone else is choosing words to engage you.

Slow down when you hear words that fire you up. Listen. Ask questions. Listen some more. Think your way through. Keep doing this over and over again. No matter what you hear, remember who you are and who you want to be. Remember that words matter – those you choose and those you choose to listen to.

And, finally, remember the words attributed to Lao Tzu:

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

 © 2026 www.megreilly360.com

1/19/2026