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This is page on 47
Sorry, BranShea, the scrolling down referred to my 2nd link which is to an online biography of the man who wrote the book in the first link, but yes, it is filled with fun inkhorn words.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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I hope this does not betray the fact that I did not explore the second link  ..at first. But now I did.
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hope this does not betray the fact that I did not explore the second linkYour secret is safe on the Net. 
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Post it on Wikipedia and no one will believe it.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Hmm, the prefix [i]a- (an- before vowels) is from Greek, not Latin. [/i].
You'll have to take that up with the Wordsmith himself. I merely copied and pasted the entry from AWAD.
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take that up with the Wordsmith himself.
Ah, yes, I realized that, but lethargy overtook me, and I posted here, even though I know Anu does not read these posts.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Pooh-Bah
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I don't know why I should feel compelled to defend the word aliterate, but in general I don't grasp the logic of forbidding the combination of Greek and Latin roots to form a new word. It's just an arbitrary rule and ignores the organic change of language over time. If a language incorporates Greek and Latin words in general, it seems natural to me that over time interracial marriages may occur and produce offspring. What would be the more etymologically pure form, anyway? Anliterate? Analiterate? Are these words better than "aliterate" or even as good?
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Carpal Tunnel
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in general I don't grasp the logic of forbidding the combination of Greek and Latin roots to form a new word.I was not castigating aliterate for its mixed classical heritage. It does not bother me at all to see or use words like television or hexadecimal. I was just saying that the prefix a- is of Greek origin and not of Latin origin as Anu stated in his etymology. What would be the more etymologically pure form, anyway?Not sure about what purity and etymology have to do with one another. I am reminded of a great quotation from the early days of the Internet: The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle [sic] their pockets for new vocabulary. The word would be aliterate. If you want to have word that uses only Latin affixes and roots, you could use the more common illiterate. Another mixed one I mentioned earlier in this thread would be the semi-pseudo-mixed unlettered. Or you could use the delightful (and totally Greek, man) analphabetic. [Fixed typo.]
Last edited by zmjezhd; 06/21/10 03:10 PM.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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apropos of some other convo, no doubt, but actually related to jim's original post on this matter, I discovered that the actual root word for agrammatist, according to OED and verified by Liddell/Scott, is the totally Greek word agrammatos. put that in your riffle and puther it. (I, being even more lethargic in the end, couldn't be arsed to also look up the root of aliterate, which might be even more instructive, in the event.)
-joe (country boy) fish
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Pooh-Bah
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Not sure about what purity and etymology have to do with one another. I am reminded of a great quotation from the early days of the Internet: The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle [sic] their pockets for new vocabulary. The word would be aliterate. I fyou want to have word that uses only Latin affixes and roots, you could use the more common illiterate. Another mixed one I mentioned earlier in this thread would be the semi-pseudo-mixed unlettered. Or you could use the delightful (and totally Greek, man) analphabetic. Well, there may have been elements of irony in my question that did not fully transmit via internet.
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