Autobiographical. I often use this word to explain how Russian is very root-driven when talking to military students at the Defense Language Institue in Monterey, who will be soon starting Russian. The young ladies particularly like the explanation.
My pools of words are not limited to English. I was a missionary in France and Belgium, so learned French. I studied Spanish in college for several years afterwards. The US Army had me learn Russian during the Cold War, Then cross-trained me into Serbo-Croatian during the Bosnia/Kosovo Wars. I spent about 7 years stationed-residing in West Germany and Germany. Like German, Slavic-derived languages are very root-driven. The most romantic word I ever heard is "izabranica" (pronounced izabranitsa). Typical banal English translations do not give the word justice. Usually it is put forward as an endearment such as 'darling' or 'sweetheart'. But my favorite Serbo-Croatian word means so much more. The root of the word is 'bran'; 'braniti' means to select or gather. The suffix 'ica' is a feminine ending, often used for people. The prefix 'iza' means "out from". So what does "izabranica' really mean? Means more than just your one true love; more than just your soulmate... It means the woman you chose out from among all others, your izabranica.
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