Daily Vocabulary: Encomium

encomium
noun

1. Warm, glowing praise.
2. A formal expression of praise; a tribute.
[Latin encōmium, from Greek enkōmion (epos), (speech) praising a victor, neuter of enkōmios, of the victory procession : en-, in; see en-2 + kōmos, celebration.]

Sarah was so taken with Fables that she considered composing a musical encomium to the author, despite being unable to read music or carry a tune. She settled for buying all the back issues from her local comic shop instead.

The encomia for Sarah's mother flew fast and furious at her funeral, and seemed so at odds with the character of the woman Sarah had known, that she was forced to check her program to assure herself that she had not wandered into the wrong service.

Daily Vocabulary: Mawkish

Mawkish
Adjective

1. Excessively and objectionably sentimental. See Synonyms at sentimental.
2. Sickening or insipid in taste.
[From Middle English mawke, maggot, variant of magot; see maggot.]

Sarah's mawkish acquaintance constantly encourages her to "grieve the loss of her dreams of natural childbirth," despite the fact that Sarah's son is almost two, and Sarah is still madly in love with the anesthesiologist.