prosaic (adj) - ordinary, dull, or lacking imagination (also prosaical) [proh-zey-ik]
prose is any form of written or spoken language–though often used to describe creative writing–that follows the natural flow of ordinary speech and standard grammatical structure, as opposed to the rhythmic meter or line breaks of poetry
BREAKDOWN: The word prose, derived from the Medieval Latin prosaicus, originally meant pertaining to or written in prose. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the term shed its relation to writing and instead came to mean everyday or ordinary. Etymologists trace the word back to the root VERT- meaning to turn in words like divert, subvert, and inadvertent.
“Without imagination of the one kind or of the other, mortal existence is indeed a dreary and prosaic business... Illumined by the imagination, our life, whatever its defeats - is a never-ending unforeseen strangeness and adventure and mystery.” —Walter de La Mare
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]