Peripatetic- do you know what this word means?

[Anonymous]

I recently used the word peripatetic in an email to describe a time in my life when I moved frequently due to job requirements, as in “… my peripatetic life when I was in my 20s….” The person I wrote the email to replied in such a way that it appears that they believe that I was unhappy with my life at that time, which makes me think the person might have thought that the word “peripatetic” means “pathetic.”

Two questions:

1. should I not have used this word? Is it too obscure to use in a casual email?
2. Is there some way I can let this person know that I was referring to the fact that I moved frequently during that time and not that I was at all unhappy? I don’t want the person to feel insulted that I think they don’t understand what this word means, but I also don’t want them to think that I feel that my life at that time was “pathetic.”

Thanks in advance for any advice here.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, I can commiserate. I serve on a nonprofit board with a bunch of people who have various connections to the institution it’s affiliated with. Some of them are smart. Some of them so frequently misunderstand written and spoken vocabulary (as native English speakers) that we end up with completely different interpretations of events and plans. It’s exhausting. We’re no longer in an era in which you can assume that educated professionals have a certain level of intelligence or awareness of their blind spots. The worst part is that if you clarified that would probably only further confuse them and/or insult them.

Make your communications plainer…but also, that’s a word that’s really straightforward and pretty much only used in the way you used it, so I’m annoyed on your behalf.

[Anonymous]

Wandering, travelling.

I don't think it's obscure, but then again I have had colleagues be puzzled by "adroit" and "aplomb." I don't know, OP. It's just not a world with a broad vocabulary anymore.

[Anonymous]

Wtf..who uses that word unless they are writing a book? Most normal people have never even heard of the word. Please come down from Mars and speak in terms that us common folk can relate to.

[Anonymous]

PS: OP, can you write back something like "Oh, I was using 'peripatetic' in the sense of travelling, not in a negative way." No need to be clear that it's the only meaning, just leave it vague enough to assume that there may be more than one meaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wtf..who uses that word unless they are writing a book? Most normal people have never even heard of the word. Please come down from Mars and speak in terms that us common folk can relate to.

(not OP) I am very sorry that this has caused you distress. I would say "consternation," but, you know.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I know what the word means. No, I would not use it in an email unless I knew the person well enough to know if it was likely in their vocabulary or not. Nbd though!

[Anonymous]

I use that word frequently and wouldn’t think twice if you sent it to me in an email. 53F

[Anonymous]

Maybe she thought you meant semipathetic. It's really not a word used very frequently. On second thought, maybe she intimated you were pathetic for using it.

[Anonymous]

I know what the word means and I might feel bad for you for living a peripatetic life in your 20s. You had fun (maybe?) but missed out or put off other things in life.

[Anonymous]

I always have to pause and think about the definition of that word when I see it. I’m not surprised that someone thought it meant something other that what it actually means.
I had to stop using the word penultimate because so many people think it means the last one, not the second to last one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS: OP, can you write back something like "Oh, I was using 'peripatetic' in the sense of travelling, not in a negative way." No need to be clear that it's the only meaning, just leave it vague enough to assume that there may be more than one meaning.

This is a grateful response.

[Anonymous]

I didn't know what that word meant. My vocabulary is decent. I would have just looked it up. NBD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PS: OP, can you write back something like "Oh, I was using 'peripatetic' in the sense of travelling, not in a negative way." No need to be clear that it's the only meaning, just leave it vague enough to assume that there may be more than one meaning.

This is a grateful response.

I can't tell if this is a typo for graceful, or the pinnacle of sarcasm. Either way it is grating on my nerves..

[Anonymous]

I know what peripatetic means, but if I didn't, I would look it up. I like learning new words. It's no big deal.

Someone offered a graceful response upthread if you feel like responding.