What about the etymological powerhouse family of words stemming from the root deru —
betroth; Dante; dendrite; dendro-; dendrochronology; dour; Druid; drupe; dryad; dura mater; durable; durance; duration; duress; during; durum; endure; hamadryad; indurate; obdurate; perdurable; philodendron; rhododendron; shelter; tar; tray; tree; trim; troth; trough; trow; truce; true; trust; truth; tryst.*
INSTANT STORY: We can go from tryst to betroth to trust to endurance to duration to obdurate to truce … a nice Dantean marriage unfolding, right under the shelter of the philodendrons and some druid-filled trees.
All with the added bonus of the word dendrochronology — just saying that word is enough to excite any libido in these slow covid times.
In all seriousness though: duration – tree – truth – trust all related? These are big-girl words upon which much of civilization is built. Troubling to witness so many people out with sledgehammers and chainsaws.
* I popped all these terms into google, and this image of Arch Druid, Roshtand The Green appeared. Awesome. More on the root at etymonline — an indispensible resource for word lovers.
