Opaque is my beautiful word: What is yours?

 

According to Merriam Webster my favorite sounding word is...

Opaque (Adjective) Blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially light.

However let's focus on what this assignment is really looking for in an answer of why this word is one of my favorites; because of it's sound.

When I think of the word opaque I get transported back to middle school science when we were all learning about the properties of reflective surfaces. Of course, when we got to our notes about opaque surfaces, our teacher did not have much to say. There was no reflections that could be noted, no properties that my 8th grade brain didn't know of, and no priority about studying the concept of opaqueness. I can't help to think that the word opaque was assigned such a boring characteristic so that the sound of the word could bring it more value.

You cannot say the word opaque with out focusing on the sound that the "aque" makes. This defies all expectations of sound in the English language mimicking the word ache.

However, this is not the only thing that draws me to this word.  The look of the word having a duel between the p and the q is awesome. The duo of letters are facing off over which one has most importance in the word's sound over the other. 

Also, you cannot forget the cadence that opaque invokes to all readers. When saying the word opaque, I hear similarities to words like "awake", "await", and "understate". 

All in all, opaque is a great word with amazing sound. I would hate to await for someone to say opaque with such haste like my middle school science teacher, but when I do have the privilege to hear someone say opaque, I let my ears basque in the symphony of words that accompany it.