Monday I "published" an opinion on a case which I had been considering. A copy of the opinion was sent around to the other judges in my level of court electronically. One of them, a fussy sort, quickly responded that I had used a word not in the lexicon. The word to which he objected was "animositous." I don't find it in any of the standard dictionaries, either, but I'd swear it is a legitimate term, 'tho I can't think of where I've ever read it, used by one of my betters.

Dictionary.com lists animous. Is this a little too positive for your meaning?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=animous

OED has it also. Perhaps animosity took a turn for the worse that animous didn't.

The word to which he objected was "animositous"

Your word "animositous" does not appear to be derived from "animous", Father Steve. "Animous" is a first cousin of "animus".

Your word "animositous" appears to be associated with "animosity" and, considering that you used the word in a judicial proceeding [ecclesiastical justice?], I assume that you were characterizing the behavior of one of the opposing or contending parties in that proceeeding.

How do you describe the behavior of someone who is animated by "animosity"? "Animositous" is a good solution. Congratulations on your ingenuity, Father Steve.

Ruh roh, Father Steve. I ran it through Onelook, and:
Sorry, no dictionaries indexed in the selected category contain the word Animositous.

Perhaps you meant:
antimonious (found in 9 dictionaries)
anitmonious (found in 1 dictionary)
anisosmotic (found in 1 dictionary)

You may well have seen it, but it may have been someone's coinage.

it does score fourteen (11!) google hits.

You may well have seen it, but it may have been someone's coinage

It may, indeed, be someone else's coinage, Father Steve, but that does not devalue the coinage, nor your appreciation of it, the highest expression of which is to make actual use of the coinage in an informed context ... which you did!

I like "animositous" myself. It does fill a vaccuum. "Bellicose" does not quite cover the territory. And "animositous" invites favorable comparison with "impetuous".

Someone* said famously that, next in stature to the originator of a quote, is the person who uses it wisely. Ditto a coinage.

Ah ha! That someone is Ralph Waldo Emerson:

* Next to the originator of a good sentence is the first quoter of it. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882), Letters and Social Aims (Quotation and Originality)

I'd prefer animose which is a word of sorts. From the Latin animosus originally 'airy, full of air' but later 'full of animus (i.e., spirit, passion)'. But to each her own ...

I'd prefer animose which is a word of sorts

"animose" gives you the 'spirit', jheem, without the 'animosity' which informs that spirit.

It seems to me a good coinage must be transparent. One ought to be able to read the meaning from the word itself. "Animous" gives no hint of "animosity" whereas "animositous" is utterly transparent and self-evident.

"animous" may be a good alternative for "animus", if such an alternative was required, but it does not begin to fill the vaccuum neatly filled by "animositous", in my respectful opinion.

Thank you, one and all, for your thoughtful responses to my plea. I have rejoined to my critic that it is a good word, if not a standard word, and I'm stickin' to it.

The Old Padre

>it is a good word, if not a standard word, and I'm stickin' to it.


Isn't that just a little bit hypocritous from one so fond of prescriptivist pshawing as you?

Isn't that just a little bit hypocritous ... ?

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self Reliance" in Essays

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"

Reminds me that Hallowe'en is just around the corner, Father Steve.

BTW did you read the story yesterday about the Hallowe'en mask producer who says he can predict the outcome of a presidential election by the popularity of the masks he is selling?

Headline: "Masked revelers prefer Bush
Get this one: Halloween mask sales predictor says incumbent will beat Kerry in November."

http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/21/news/funny/prez_masks/

Which begs the question [perhaps?]:

Which Presidential candidate is wearing the most successful mask?

Incidentally, your "hobgoblin" quote reminds me of Sprio Agnew's "nabobs":

"Over 30 years ago, Vice President Spiro Agnew famously referred to the press corps as 'nattering nabobs of negativity'."

Spiro Agnew said it, but it was William Safire, who still writes the occasional newspaper column, who wrote it. Speechwriters like that don't come along every day.

I've always liked the sound of nabob (or nawab): < Hindi nawāb, nabāb < Arabic nuwāwb (pl. of nā’ib 'deputy' active participle of nāba 'to represent'. And, of course, negus is pretty cool, too: < Amharic nəgus < Classical Ethiopic nəgu 'king, ruler' verbal adjective of nagśa 'to rule, become king'.

And his weekly article "On Language" in the Sunday NY Times magazine is not to be missed.