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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread amphigouri #163579 11/19/2006 8:03 AM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 amphigouri Can anyone give me the etymology of this word, meaning "a verse composition that sounds well but makes absolutely no sense"? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: amphigouri #163580 11/19/2006 1:46 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass "origin unknown", but here's what OED has, fwiw: [mod.Fr.; orig. unknown. According to Litt. first used in 18th c.; referred by some to Gr. {alenis}{mu}{phi}{giacu} about + {gamma}{gufrown}{rho}{omicron}{fsigma} circle, or -{alenis}{gamma}{omicron}{rho}{giacu}{alpha} speech, cf. allegory, category.] (sorry about the Greek; that's the way it copies) usu. spelled amphigory in Eng. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Re: amphigouri #163581 11/19/2006 2:07 PM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Thanks. Here's an example of an amphigory from The Book of Literary Anecdotes (1990) if you're interested (although, maybe its a comment on modern poetry that these lines don't strike me as especially senseless): "From the depth of the dreary decline of the dawn through a notable nimbus of nebulous moonshine. Pallid and pink as the palm of the flag-flown that Flickers with fear for the flies as they float, Are the looks of our lovers that lustrously lean from a marvel of mystic miraculous moonshine, These that we feel in the blood of our blushes that Thicken and threaten with throbs through his throat?" —Nephelidia: an amphigouri, Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909). Last edited by Hydra; 11/19/2006 2:08 PM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Share Post on Reddit Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,916 Posts230,383 Members9,211 Most Online7,006 Mar 7th, 2026 Newest Members Boo boo kitty fu, peterreineck, Peripatetic Toad, JerryC, blvd 9,211 Registered Users Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 35 A C Bowden 17 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 11,208 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,974 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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