If words were people, then “eloquent,” “love” and “symphony” would get dates most Friday nights. Sadly, “vomit,” “moist” and “puke” likely would stay home alone, wondering what went wrong. Which begs the question: How are words pretty or ugly? That’s the question Robert E. Wolverton Sr., a Mississippi State University classics professor, recently asked in a survey of some 75 students in his classes. Developed from Wolverton’s natural academic curiosity, the poll is part of the foreign language faculty member’s “semi-frequent” examination of how students at the land-grant university view widely used terms. Of the 148 different “beautiful” words...
