Words The English Language Needs

Yeah, I know the English language already has wayyyy more words in it than basically any other language, and that makes it really hard to learn for people who don't grow up speaking it, but there's still room for improvement! We can always add more words! I've noticed some gaps in the system and words that we really need to invent, like now.

A word for dying of thirst

We so need a word for this. If I'm dying of thirst, I shouldn't have to go to all the trouble to tell someone that I'm 'dying of dehydration' because I might not have enough hydration left to get all those syllables out. When I'm out of the house and I'm both hungry and thirsty I want to be able to say "I'm starving and ____." You get my point, right?

Multiple ways to say 'i love you'

This. Needs. To. Be. Fixed.

Seriously, I need to be able to tell everyone that I care about them. I want one for friends, one for family, one for a lover, and I also want one for pets and animals. Can you see the irony that one could use with the pet one? Just come on. I need to be able to say these things.

A word for that hole that the door latch goes into

I had to look this up for a novel one time, and while the strike plate isn't a bad name for the shiny part itself that goes around the hole, I don't think the hole in the frame itself actually has a name? Seriously, if I put tape across the hole so the door can't lock, I need to be able to name it!

A verb for that flaily thing people do through the air when they can fly

You've seen it. When someone suddenly gains the ability to fly or float or something, they do this flailing swimming running thing to try to gain some traction, and there's no word for it. Do you know how exhausting it is to write ran/swam/flailed/tried-to-get to the exit every time someone's floating?? We need a word.

A word for a woman older than you who feels like an aunt/mom/friend

There needs to be a word for this, but there isn't one. It's a relationship that's kind of every female relationship all rolled into one, and we need a word asap.

A task that looks important, but is actually just killing time. 

This is actually already a word in Dutch, epibreren. It's a super cool word, and we need an English word for it, because I've done epibreren, and I've been given epibreren tasks before. I need it.

Bonus: We need to use the word mathom more

This word was invented by JRR Tolkien for his own books. A mathom is something you don't want or need, but you don't want to throw away. You might regift it, but you won't trash it. This is such a useful word, and I love that writers have the power to invent new words to fill a gap. It's just that I think most of us who might want to invent words don't have the power to make it widely spread and therefore counted as a real word.

Do you know any words that need to be invented? Have you ever used the word 'mathom'? Let's talk in the comments!