What´s in a word?

As master Shakespeare puts it in his lyrical tale "Romeo & Juliet" :


"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."



What´s in a name if not an arbitrary concept? I can´t help wondering why some words are regarded as “just ugly” and others are “simply lovely". Quite often you avoid buying something or refuse to eat something because of its name, think of “guacamole" and "kidney pie" . First, let see what a word is. According to the Merriam Webster´s dictionary a word is "a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use" .

One feature that might make a work ugly or nice it’s the sound. Not because one sound is better than another but what they connote can be more or less pleasant for our ears. If I think about the word "guacamole" I cannot help thinking about disgusting things such as gush or gob.
And that is due to the / g / at the beginning.

Another feature which can contribute to a word´s "appeal” might be its cultural or historical background. For instance, "Nazi" or even "che". The former gave a name to a political party, however the horror of its ruling over Germany rendered it almost an insult. The latter, a word which is so popular in our country, can connote revolutionary feelings for other people .In a country like Venezuela can be considered heroic. I wonder what connotations it might have in Belgium.

Finally, I will focus on the length of words.

• God, faith, love, mum, foe, hate.
• Circumlocution, anniversary, onomatopoeia, characteristics, facilities, observation.

Let´s take the first words of each group. God has three graphemes while circumlocution has fourteen. What a difference! Let alone some of us do not even know the meaning of circumlocution. On the other hand, we are all well acquainted with God.
No matter how long or short words are the best way to express ideas and thought. Human are the only blessed creatures that have this gift. I´ve found some gifted people...read:

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Mother Teresa

Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
Maya Angelou

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Mark Twain

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
Lao Tzu

You can stroke people with words.
F. Scott Fitzgerald