Environment en·vi·ron·ment /ənˈvīrə(n)m(ə)nt/ Noun 1. the surroundings or place where someone or something lives “When someone does a small task beautifully, their whole environment is affected by it.” – Jerry Seinfeld (1954 – ) 2. the natural world and all its living and nonliving components, including air, water, soil, plants, and animals “The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a... Read More

Quintessence quin·tes·sence /kwinˈtes(ə)n(t)s/ Noun the purest and highest essence of spirit “For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives.” – Amy Lowell (1874-1925)

Philanthropy phi·lan·thro·py /fəˈlanTHrəpē/ Noun the practice of improving the welfare of others by donating money or giving one’s time to good causes “Never respect men merely for their riches, but rather for their philanthropy; we do not value the sun for its height, but for its use.” – Gamaliel Bailey (1807 – 1859)

Enamel e·nam·el /iˈnaməl/ Noun 1. the outer covering of the teeth “There are two things in life that a sage must preserve at every sacrifice, the coats of his stomach and the enamel of his teeth.” – Henry Lytton Bulwer (1801 – 1872) 2. a hard, glossy coating or surface, typically smooth and often decorative, made by fusing powdered glass onto a substrate such... Read More

Echo ech·o /ˈekō/ noun a sound that repeats as it bounces back from an object “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Theresa (1910 – 1997) verb to produce a sound that is reflected off a surface and heard again “All we can do is live our lives fully, be authentically ourselves and trust... Read More

Evoke e·voke /əˈvōk/ Verb to call forth or summon “All of us have wonders hidden in our breasts, only needing circumstances to evoke them.” – Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870)

Fervor fer·vor /ˈfərvər/ Noun strong and impassioned feeling or enthusiasm “The union of the mathematician with the poet, fervor with measure, passion with correctness, this surely is the ideal.” – William James (1842 – 1910)

Miasma mi·as·ma /mīˈazmə,mēˈazmə/ Noun noxious vapor “At twenty-one or twenty-two so many things appear solid and permanent and terrible which forty sees are nothing but disappearing miasma.” – Booth Tarkington (1969 – 1946)

Threshold  thresh·old /ˈTHreSHˌ(h)ōld/ Noun 1. a limit or boundary beyond which a particular effect or process is initiated Every mystery solved brings us to the threshold of a greater one. – Rachel Carson (1907–1964) 2. a piece of timber or metal that lies beneath a door; an entrance Up to the threshold of the door there mounted a flight of twenty-seven broad stairs, hewn... Read More

Prestige pres·tige /preˈstē(d)ZH/ Noun influence derived from past success or reputation “Literature deserves its prestige for one reason above all others – because it’s a tool to help us live and die with a little bit more wisdom, goodness, and sanity.” – Alain de Botton (1969 -)