|
|
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 25
newbie
|
OP
newbie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 25 |
First of all, gotta be pedantic here and point out that the plural of Lego is....Lego. Not "Legos". It is a collective conceptual noun, a brandname for a type of toy. In the same way that one does not use "Scrabbles" for a series of Scrabble games or a collection of Scrabble letter tiles. But sure, one can say "Lego bricks" or "Lego pieces" if one wants to convey the sense of plurality, which is what I think Anu was trying to do.
Anyway, I rose to this week's fascinating challenge and instantly came up with this word: "Theopoly - the selling of God". A very prevalant practice around the world, particulary in the environs of religious shrines, and on American TV.
But imagine my chagrin when I then googled theopoly, only to find that the word was already out there! But with a different meaning: it's been proposed as a religious spoof of the Monopoly game.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
Heliodactyl: twinkle toes
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
First of all, gotta be pedantic here and point out that the plural of Lego is....Lego. Not "Legos". Maan! I knew someone was gonna do that! No one listens to the Red Queen. Meanwhile I came up with theodactyl to describe the focal point of Michelangelo's Creation fo Adam.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
A dictiordinary word: heliography
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
Ray, pedantic or not "Legos" is in common usage these days; just ask any kid.  I thought I had a good word in hagiogony ("the origin of saints"), but I found it was already used when I Googled it and found it in the Biobliotecha Indica: "There is, clearly, no countenance, in the analogy of the Hindu hagiogony, for the else plausible surmise, that a complete history of the mdnasa sons of Brahma, might, if recoverable, possibly go to show that the term by which they are known, may originally have borne a less mystical signification than that of mind-born. Its intention could never have been to discriminate the literate portion of the Brahmanidae from their less learned kinsmen." Bibliotecha Indica, page 16, from Google. I wonder if I could get away with oligotheolotry (worship of a few gods). Any thoughts? Robert
Robert H. Woodman
Columbus, Ohio
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
heliodactyl-n-sunbeams that reach out and massage your skin on a warm day.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
How about "Heliotheodactylatry", literally, worshipping the fingers of the sun god: loving those little stripes of light that sneak between the clouds on a bright day.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
How about "Heliotheodactylatry", literally, worshipping the fingers of the sun god: loving those little stripes of light that sneak between the clouds on a bright day.
I love crepuscular rays! welcome everyone!
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
How about hagiodactylopoly and the subsequent hagiodactylolatry?
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
Drinking water is now sold everywhere in bottles. Before long we will see heliopoly -- the selling of the sun. Oh, wait -- I guess that's what Florida vacations are.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?Greek distinguishes between long and short vowels. Greek πωλη ( pōlē) 'sale', πωλέω ( pōleō) 'to exchange, sell' ( link) and πολύς ( polus) 'many' ( link). The - y in the English words comes from the Greek -ια (- ia).
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95 |
Taking a que from a Boy Scout Merit Bagde, how about... THEOORIENTEERING... for finding or discovering the pathway to God? The compass being scripture.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Meanwhile I came up with theodactyl to describe the focal point of Michelangelo's Creation fo Adam.
Love this.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
I was curious about what cognates for the Greek πωλη (pōlē) 'sale' existed in other Indo-European languages. Ther are a few: an older German word, feil, Old Norse falr 'venal, for sale', Russian полон (polon) 'captivity; booty', Lithuanian pelnas 'earnings', from PIE *pel- 'to sell; to earn'.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1 |
Wonderful topic! Here's something I've wondered about for years, help me out. A "lego" word for the process whereby reality/god/the cosmos/ whatever it is appears to answer questions in the exact vernacular in which they were posed. Kepler mentions this in his writings, but doesn't coin a word for it. He calls it something like "God speaks to us in the language we can understand."
Examples are why/how so many diverse "religions" (or inquiries) seem to "work" : voodoo, Shakerism, Shamanism,the I Ching, reading cowrie shells, Platonism, reading bird's entrails, etc., etc. Why/how so many cosmologies seem to be the only reasonable answer. And so on.
Can anyone come up with a word for what "God/Nature/Guidance/Whatever" is doing?
LOU
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,936 Likes: 3
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,936 Likes: 3 |
----please, draw me a sheep----
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
Hagiography or hagiographics : the holy writings of nature / life.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95 |
How about theolatrigony? the origin of God worship?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?Greek distinguishes between long and short vowels. Greek πωλη ( pōlē) 'sale', πωλέω ( pōleō) 'to exchange, sell' ( link) and πολύς ( polus) 'many' ( link). The - y in the English words comes from the Greek -ια (- ia). okey doke. thanks. so, thee ah puh lee and thee ah poh lee?
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
THEOORIENTEERING... for finding or discovering the pathway to God? The compass being scripture. I love this one! I'll have to tell my hubby about it: he's a Scoutmaster.
zmjezhd, thanks for all the etymologies. Interesting (but not surprising) to find out that so many of the IE ones are to do with money, trade, etc.
Psst, Ray--don't be gone so long between posts, eh?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95 |
If poly is to sell, would theoergonopoly (God's work for sale) be like selling indulgences? I would prefer Many the works of God. I guess it is in the pronunciation then?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Hang on a minute; I thought ergo meant thus or therefore. How can it fit here, or in, say, ergonomic?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Ergo v. Ergonomic. It's that old Latin v. Greek thang again. Ergo meaning therefore is from the Latin ergo, "therefore". The ergo in ergonomic is from the Greek ergon, "work".
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
Greek ergon, "work".
Yup, and the Greek word is cognate with English work, the past tense of which verb is wrought.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 25
newbie
|
|
OP
newbie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 25 |
Ray, pedantic or not "Legos" is in common usage these days; just ask any kid. Robert, it probably depends on the country. I have NEVER heard anyone, child or adult, say "Legos" here in Ireland. I was an obsessive Lego collector as a child (every Christmas and birthday, it's all I ever wanted)...and now my little girls are really into it too, along with their friends and cousins. BTW, your "oligotheolotry" is really good!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95 |
I am pondering the word today artiodactyl, even number of toes or fingers and its companion perissodactyl, odd number of toes, and the creatures that have these characteristics. How would man fit this? Conventional wisdom says perissodactyl, 5 fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot. But what about those who consider our opposable thumbs not to be fingers. Would that make us misceredactyl; pedioperissodactyl by foot and manoartiodactyl by hand?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
We're perissodactyl. A better question might be whether pandas are artiodactyl or perissodactyl. Their thumbs are not fingers at all but an unruly wrist bone. And then there's cats with five toes on the front feet and four on the rear feet.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
The ergo in ergonomic is from the Greek ergon, "work". Ah; thanks. The works that put the Greeks in the ascendency ergon now. Got it--I hope.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
Week's over. Of the 25 possible (dictionary valid?) combinations with Anu's Lego/Legos/Lego parts we have 6.
theogony, oligopoly, artiodactyl, heliolatry, hagiography, heliography.
I did not find heliopoly in a dictionary. But it might be there.
Means there are 19 still out there. Anyone still interested in finding those? Or is the game over?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
So, the words are: And they are linked to their entries in OneLook. I leave it to tsuwm to calculate their indices.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
what am I, a cacographer then?
-joe btfsplk
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
Thank you ZMOnelook. A shocking list. cacography ( cup of your own tea ) WWftD
[as fr. Gk kako-, bad + -graphia, writing] bad handwriting; bad spelling.
Don't see what bad spelling has to do with it.
Last edited by BranShea; 01/31/10 11:25 AM. Reason: What the......?
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,651
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
1 members (A C Bowden),
183
guests, and
3
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
