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continued from here___________________________ MIDAS TOUCHPRONUNCIATION: (MY-duhs tuhch) MEANING: noun: The ability to easily make anything profitable. ETYMOLOGY: After the legendary King Midas who was given the power that anything he touched turned into gold. Earliest documented use: 1652. NOTES: Be careful what you wish for. That’s the moral of the story of King Midas. He was given the power by Dionysus that anything he touched would turn into gold. His happiness was momentary. Soon he learned that he couldn’t eat anything because as soon as he touched food it would turn into gold and all that glitters is inedible. His father Gordias has an eponym coined after him too. ___________________________ AIDA'S TOUCH - what makes Verdi's opera a masterpiece MIDAS TOUGH - one-time sales slogan for car mufflers MID-EAST OUCH - the Gaza Strip
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PHILIPPIC
PRONUNCIATION: (fi-LIP-ik)
MEANING: noun: A bitter condemnation, usually in a speech.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek philippikos, the name given to orator Demosthenes’s speeches urging Athenians to rise up against Philip II of Macedon. Earliest documented use: 1550.
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PHILIPP, INC - the makers of Milk of Magnesia have very quietly changed their name
PHILIP PICE - India has issued a new small coin bearing the image of the Duke of Edinburgh, now 98
PHILIP, PC - ...now that he has an official policy of never offending anyone any more
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HERM
PRONUNCIATION: (huhrm)
also herma (HUHR-muh), plural hermae (HUHR-mee) or hermai (HUHR-my) or herms
MEANING: noun: A square pillar topped with a bust.
ETYMOLOGY: After Hermes, the god of roads, boundaries, eloquence, commerce, invention, cunning, theft, and more, in Greek mythology. Earliest documented use: 1579.
NOTES: In ancient Greece, herm was a stone pillar with a square base. It had a bust of Hermes at the top and a phallus at the appropriate height. It was typically used as a boundary marker, milestone, or signpost.
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HERR M. - how Sir Miles Messervy is addressed in Berlin
HERA - the many wives of Zeus (each one being a Herum)
HER MD - the degree earned by the lady doctor
pH ER M - the acidity of the thirteenth Emergency Room
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"also HERMA - (HUHR-muh), plural hermae (HUHR-mee) " - what Johnny was to Frankie ( (but he done her wrong)
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ACHILLES' HEEL
PRONUNCIATION: (uh-KIL-eez heel)
MEANING: noun: A seemingly small but critical weakness in an otherwise strong position.
ETYMOLOGY: After Achilles, a hero in the Greek mythology. When Achilles was a baby, his mother Thetis dipped him into the magical river Styx to make him invincible. She held him by the heel which remained untouched by the water and became his weak point. He was killed when the Trojan prince Paris shot an arrow that pierced his one vulnerable spot: his heel. After him, the tendon in the lower back of the ankle is also known as the Achilles tendon. Earliest documented use: 1705.
NOTES: ...The actor Brad Pitt played Achilles in the 2004 film Troy and tore his left Achilles tendon during production. Talk about taking a role seriously!
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ACHILLES HEAL - sewing the tendon back together
ACHILLES' HELL - tearing the other one
A.C. HILLE STEEL - what the blast furnaces of industrial magnate Arthur Charles Hille produce
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SOCRATIC IRONY
PRONUNCIATION: (suh-KRAT-ik EYE-ruh-nee)
MEANING: noun: A profession of ignorance in a discussion in order to elicit clarity on a topic and expose misconception held by another.
ETYMOLOGY: After Greek philosopher Socrates (470?-399 BCE) who employed this method. Earliest documented use: 1721.
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SOCRATIC IRONS - what Socrates used to hit the ball off the grass
SOCRATIC CRONY - Xanthippe
SOURATIC IRONY - when the grape farmer says of the escaping crow, ""Well, he was too scrawny to make very good eating anyway..."
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MIDAS-EARED
PRONUNCIATION: (MY-duhs eerd)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Having poor judgment.
2. Having inability to appreciate something.
ETYMOLOGY: After the legendary King Midas (of Midas touch fame) whose ears Apollo turned into a donkey’s ears for suggesting that Apollo’s musical rival Marsyas played better music. Earliest documented use: 1569.
NOTES: The god Apollo and the satyr Marsyas had a musical contest (in another version of the story it was the god Pan instead of Marsyas). The mountain-god Tmolus served as the judge and declared Apollo the winner. King Midas, in his kibitzing wisdom, favored Marsyas as the winner. This upset Apollo who said that Midas’s musical judgment implied that he had donkey’s ears and made his ears those of a donkey’s. (Not to be confused with donkey’s years.)
Then, Apollo had his musical opponent Marsyas skinned alive. (Not that serene, was he, as his reputation in the eponym Apollonian suggests?) Now you know why back then they didn’t have Greece’s Got Talent on Mount Olympus. Who would be foolish enough to sign up as a judge (Simon Cowell wasn’t born yet) and who would dare to be a contestant?
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MIDAS BARED - gold clothing is kinda stiff, after all
VIDA SEARED - pitcher Blue was really throwing heat today
MID-ASIA RED - a Chinese chicken
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PHILIPPIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (FIL-uh-pyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To behave, especially to speak or write, as if corruptly influenced.
ETYMOLOGY: After Philip II of Macedon. It was believed that after Philip took control of the shrine at Delphi, the seat of high priestess Pythia, she began delivering oracles in his favor. Earliest documented use: 1597.
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PILIPPIZE - to cover with microscopic projections; to fimbriate
CHILIPPIZE - to lace with hot peppers
PHILIPPRIZE - an award given by an eastern Pennsylvania city
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HERMENEUTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (hur-muh-NOO/NYOO-tik)
MEANING: adjective: Interpretive or explanatory.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hermeneutikos (of interpreting), from hermeneuein (to interpret), from hermeneus (interpreter). After Hermes in Greek mythology, who served as a messenger and herald for other gods, and who himself was the god of eloquence, commerce, invention, cunning, theft, and more. Earliest documented use: 1678..
Other words that Hermes has given us are hermaphrodite, hermetic, and herm.
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HEMENEUTIC - mansplaining
HERMENEUTIA - the tiny things she's always fussing over
HERMENAUTIC - yacht-racing
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ACHILLIZE
PRONUNCIATION: (UH-ki-lyz)
MEANING: verb tr.: To harass or chase.
ETYMOLOGY: After Achilles, a hero in the Greek mythology. When his close friend Patroclus is killed by Hector, a vengeful Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times. Also, he causes great carnage among Trojans. Earliest documented use: 1672. Also see Achilles’ heel.
NOTES: Achilles is better known for his heel, but his anger is so prominent that it’s a popular subject in paintings. For example, The Wrath of Achilles (1630-1635) by Peter Paul Rubens, The Rage of Achilles (1757) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and La Colère d’Achille (1847) by Léon Benouville.
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A.C. HILL ICE - we'll air-condition the entire mountain!
A CHILD LIZE - but then, all kids stretch the truth at times
A CHILLI ZED - the British alphabet ends coldly
(or hotly, from a culinary viewpoint)
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HIPPODROME
PRONUNCIATION: (HIP-uh-drohm)
MEANING: noun: A stadium for horse races, chariot races, horse shows, etc.
verb tr.: To manipulate or prearrange the outcome of a contest.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hippos (horse) + dromos (running). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ekwo- (horse), which also gave us equestrian and equitant. Earliest documented use: 1549.
NOTES: Match fixing has been around for as long as humans have been having matches. Today’s word shows it going as far as ancient horse racing.
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WHIPPODROME - site of the National SadoMasochists Convention
HIP POD ROSE - where the attar is
HIPPO-DRONE - ...and you thought they couldn't even get off the ground!
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HORSE RACE
PRONUNCIATION: (HORS rays)
MEANING: noun:
1. The treating of a contest, especially an election, as if a sport, focusing on polls, perceptions, etc., instead of substantive issues, such as policies.
2. A close contest.
ETYMOLOGY: From horse, from Old English hors + race, from Old Norse (ras). Earliest documented use: 1586.
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MORSE RACE - contest to see who has the fastest "fist"
HOARSER ACE - the stunt pilot had a raspier voice after all that shouting (and smoking)
HER SERA, C.E. - she sells immunization supplies in the European Common Union
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CHIVALRY
PRONUNCIATION: (SHIV-uhl-ree)
MEANING: noun:
1. The ideal qualifications of a knight: courtesy, honor, bravery, gallantry, etc.
2. The institution of knighthood, a group of knights, a gallant deed, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old French chevalerie, from chevalier (knight), from Latin caballus (horse). Earliest documented use: 1297.
NOTES: Chivalry sounds nice, but it hides a dark side. While pretending to treat women with courtesy, we also treat them as if they are less capable, in leadership, in intelligence, and so on. It took as late as 1919 for women to get the right to vote in the US, for example. As late as 2016, some people voted for an incompetent over a highly accomplished woman, because, in their view, a “man can do a better job than a woman”
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[Also known as a "cavalier" attitude - and for good etymological reason...]
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SHIVALRY - Code of the Streets: gangs agree - no guns, only knives during rumbles
CO-HIVALRY - when two bee colonies work together for mutual advantage (usually occurs when the respective Queens are twins)
CHIRAL-RY - inability to superimpose on one's mirror image. Think gloves.
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WAR-HORSE
PRONUNCIATION: (WAR-hors)
MEANING: noun:
1. A horse used in war. Also known as a charger.
2. An experienced, dependable person, thing, etc., one who has gone through many contests, battles, struggles, etc.
3. Something, such as a play, a piece of music, etc., that has been performed often to become hackneyed.
ETYMOLOGY: From war, from Old English (werre) + horse, from hors. Earliest documented use: 1586.
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WAX HORSE - Cetohippus, statue by Madame Toussaud
WART-HORSE - a chimera of half horse, half toad
WAR-NORSE - Odin and his buddies
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WRANGLER
PRONUNCIATION: (RANG-luhr)
MEANING: noun:
1. A cowboy who takes care of horses.
2. A person who engages in debates, quarrels, or disputes.
3. A person who handles animals, puppets, babies, unruly humans, etc., especially on a film set.
ETYMOLOGY: Probably partial translation of Mexican Spanish caballerango (groom or stable boy), from caballo (horse), from Latin caballus (horse). Ultimately from Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), which also gave us wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, universe, conversazione, divers, malversation, prosaic, versal, verso, and wroth. Earliest documented use: 1518.
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P.R. ANGLER - a fisherman from San Juan
W RANGER - patrols the West
WRIANGLER - someone to whom everything looks somewhat askew
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CAT'S PAJAMAS
PRONUNCIATION: (CATS puh-JAH-muhz)
MEANING: noun: Something or someone truly excellent.
ETYMOLOGY: From cat + pajamas, from Hindi/Urdu pajama or payjama (loose-fitting trousers), from Persian pay (leg) + jama (garment). Earliest documented use: 1923.
NOTES: In the 1920s, in the US it was fashionable to coin terms on the pattern of x’s y (where x is an animal) to describe something cool or awesome. Some synonyms of today’s term are bee’s knees, dog’s bollocks, cat’s meow, and cat’s whiskers.
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CATS PA JAMES - "...and I think - I think I shall call him Jim / 'cause I am so fond of him!" - A A Milne
CATSPAW AMAS - he's a dummy, but you love him anyway
SCAT'S PAJAMAS - a love-hate relationship
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ZENO'S PARADOX
PRONUNCIATION: (ZEE-noz PAR-uh-doks)
MEANING: noun:
1. Any of various paradoxes proposed by Zeno, dealing with change and motion.
2. The appearance of getting closer and closer to a goal, but never reaching there.
ETYMOLOGY: After the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (c. 490-430 BCE) who proposed a number of paradoxes as defense of the doctrine of his teacher Parmenides.
NOTES: The best-known among Zeno’s paradoxes is that of a race between Achilles and a tortoise. Achilles runs faster, but the tortoise has a headstart. By the time Achilles reaches the tortoise’s starting position, the tortoise has moved forward. By the time he reaches the tortoise’s new position, the tortoise has moved farther, even though the gap is now smaller.
According to the paradox, Achilles would never catch up with the tortoise because the tortoise would always be a little ahead, no matter how small the gap. Yet, we know Achilles does catch up with the tortoise (he is Achilles, not a hare). How does he do it? By not dozing off in his high school calculus and understanding the concept of limits: if you add up that infinite sequence of increasing smaller spans he traveled, you get a finite distance.
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ZEN'S PARADOX - What is the sound of one hand clapping?
ZERO'S PARADOX - division, in the field ℝ of real numbers
ZENO SPARED OX - The ox was to be slaughtered as a sacrifice to Zeus, but instead it was sent off into the wilderness carrying all our sins. There it met and was adopted by Paul Bunyan, and the rest is his story...
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GODWIN'S LAW
PRONUNCIATION: (GOD-winz law)
MEANING: noun: The idea that as a debate progresses, it becomes inevitable that someone would compare another to Hitler or the Nazis.
ETYMOLOGY: Coined by Mike Godwin (b. 1956). Earliest documented use: 1991.
NOTES: Lawyers don’t make laws, but a lawyer once did make a “law”. Back when people lived in caves, they used something called the Usenet to engage in discussions with people around the world. These discussions involved passionate arguments and debates on humanity’s deep yearnings and moral dilemmas. Is it pronounced gif or jif? Is Mac better or PC? Does it take one space or two after a period? The Who vs. Led Zeppelin. vi vs. emacs?
A lawyer named Mike Godwin coined an adage that stated: “As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” Since then Godwin’s law has served as a useful reminder that whenever a comparison to Hitler or Nazis is made, the discussion is over and the one making such a comparison loses.
There is, however, an exception. When actual Nazis (or as our president calls them, “very fine people”) are involved in a discussion, invoking Godwin’s law doesn’t mean anything. Godwin himself has stated that many times.
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GOODWIN'S LAW - Discussion of business is not allowed at the dinner table! (or was that Nero Wolfe's Law?)
GODWIN'S LAWN - mixed fescues, no doubt
GOD, WINSLOW - That, Mr Homer, is what's missing from your paintings
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CHILD'S PLAY
PRONUNCIATION: (CHYLDZ play)
MEANING: noun: Something trivial; a task easily accomplished.
ETYMOLOGY: From child, from Old English cild + play, from Old English plegan. Ultimately from the Indo-European root dlegh- (to engage oneself), which also gave us pledge, plight, and indulge. Earliest documented use: 1275.
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CHILD'S PLAN - When I grow up I'm gonna be a fireman...or a rocket pilot!
CHILE'S PLAY - original title for Evita; most memorable song was "Don't Cry for Me, Valparaiso"
CHILD'S PLAY - the 305 Ballads that minstrels have drawn on for 150 years
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PLATO'S CAVE
PRONUNCIATION: (PLAY-tohz kayv)
MEANING: noun: An illusory place or experience.
ETYMOLOGY: After the allegory of Plato’s cave in which people imprisoned there see shadows and assume that to be their reality. Earliest documented use: 1683.
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PLATO SCARE - We're having a big test on Ancient Greek tomorrow
PLATO'S CAVE - "Beware the Ides of March, Socrates!"
PLATH'S CAVE - where Sylvia went to hide from the world
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EUDEMONIC
PRONUNCIATION: (yoo-di-MON-ik)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to or conducive to happiness.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek eudaimonia (happiness), from eudaimon (having a good genius, happy), from eu- (good) + daimon (spirit, fate, fortune). Earliest documented use: 1832.
NOTES: This is a happy word; nothing demonic about it, except in the etymology.
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FEUDEMONC - a devilish argument
EUDEMANIC - status after the ups and downs of bipolar disorder have been exorcised
EUDAMONIC - like a true friend of Pythias
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TRADECRAFT
PRONUNCIATION: (TRAYD-kraft)
MEANING: noun: The techniques and methods of espionage and clandestine operations.
ETYMOLOGY: From trade, from Middle Dutch / Middle Low German trade (path, course) + craft, from Old English craeft (strength, power). Earliest documented use: 1812.
NOTES: The word tradecraft is not a synonym of Etsy. It has nothing to do with trading and nothing to do with needlework or pottery either. OK, in the beginning it did mean skill in a particular craft, but since the 1950s it’s mostly used to talk about spying skills. One example of tradecraft is steganography.
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TRADER AFT - there's a merchant at the rear of the boat
TIRADECRAFT - how to argue loudly and at great length
TRADE CROFT - tomb artifacts for sale by Lara
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ROADSTEAD
PRONUNCIATION: (ROHD-sted)
MEANING: noun: A partly sheltered stretch of water near the shore where ships can anchor. Also called roads.
ETYMOLOGY: From Old English rad (riding, journey on horseback) + Old English stede (place). Earliest documented use: 1351.
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ROAD STEAM - when a sunshower interrupts a hot summer day
ROADSTER AD - Get your Chevrolet today!
ROAD STRAD - the violin Josh Bell took to play on tour
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SUDARIUM
PRONUNCIATION: (soo-DAY-ree-uhm)
MEANING: noun: A handkerchief.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin sudare (to sweat). Earliest documented use: 1609.
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SUDASIUM - a hybrid flower produced by crossing a Daisy with a Black-Eyed Susan
SUDSARIUM - brewery showcase (see also BUDARIUM)
STUDARIUM - place where they showcase simple earrings
(Don't tell me you were expecting a display of Chippendales?)
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OTHERGUESS
PRONUNCIATION: (UHTH-uhr-ges)
MEANING: adjective: Of another kind.
ETYMOLOGY: An alteration of othergates, from other + gate (path), from Old Norse gata. Earliest documented use: 1632.
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MOTHERGUESS - eyes in the back of her head
OCHERGUESS - just what kind of yellow is that?
OTHERGUESTS - title of the Infinite "Number of Hotel Rooms" paradox
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SUPERLUNARY
PRONUNCIATION: (soo-puhr-LOON-uh-ree)
MEANING: adjective:
1. Situated beyond the moon.
2. Celestial; exalted.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin superlunaris, from super- (above) + luna (moon). Earliest documented use: 1614. The opposite is sublunary.
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SUPER LUNA RAY - the Moon Men have an unstoppable weapon
SUPER-FUNARY - a fantastically good time
CUPERTUNARY - where Apple designed their first all-in-one computers
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MENISCUS
PRONUNCIATION: (mi-NIS-kuhs)
MEANING: noun
1. The curved surface of a column of liquid.
2. Something having a crescent-shape.
3. A lens that is concave on one side and convex on the other.
4. A thin cartilage disk between bones in a joint, such as in a knee or wrist.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin, from Greek meniskos (crescent), diminutive of mene (moon). Earliest documented use: 1686.
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MENI’S CUB - What do you call the young son of Meni, the Lion King?
AMEN IS. 'CUS. - What's the last word of many hymns, and why?
ME? DISCUS - What's your event in the track meet?
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MOONSTRUCK
PRONUNCIATION: (MOON-struhk)
MEANING: adjective:
1. In a dreamy state.
2. Romantically dazed.
3. Mentally deranged.
ETYMOLOGY: From the belief that a person behaving erratically was under the influence of the moon. From moon + struck, past participle of strike, from Old English strican. Earliest documented use: 1674.
NOTES: The moon never made anyone loony, but it’s a popular excuse for erratic behavior. No one is turning into a werewolf, whether it’s a full-moon or new moon. See this article Lunacy and the Full Moon from the Scientific American.
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MORON'S TRUCK - You mean that idiot has a tractor-trailer rig?
MUON STRUCK - hit by a subatomic particle
MOON STRUNK - make a derisive gesture at the co-author of a prominent Style Handbook
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BLUE MOON
PRONUNCIATION: (BLOO moon)
MEANING: noun: A long time.
ETYMOLOGY From blue, from Old French bleu + moon, from Old English mona. Earliest documented use: 1702.
NOTES: The term typically appears in the phrase “once in the blue moon”, meaning rarely or not often. In reality, a blue moon occurs on average once every 2.7 years. So what is a blue moon? Well, in a year you see 12 full moons, but sometimes there’s a bonus full moon. This extra full moon is called a blue moon, though it’s not really blue.a cartoon that depicts prurient themesons. If there are four, the third full moon is called a blue moon.
Sometimes, the moon actually shows up in blue, but it has nothing to do with the above discussion -- nothing to do with a full moon. The color is due to the smoke or dust particles from forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.
So why is that extra moon called a blue moon? Nobody knows. Perhaps the literal blue moon got conflated with the extra full moon because both occurrences are unusual and don’t occur that often,
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BLUE TOON - a cartoon that depicts prurient themes
BLÉ MOON - the full moon that occurs during the wheat harvest, usually June or July for spring wheat
BLUE MORN - the sun rose revealing a cloudless sky
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LUNULE
PRONUNCIATION: (LOON-yool)
MEANING: noun:
1. The crescent-shaped whitish area at the base of the fingernail.
2. Any crescent-shaped mark, object, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: From French lunule, From Latin lunula, diminutive of luna (moon). Earliest documented use: 1737. Also known as lunula.
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L'UNCLE - husband of l'aunt
LUNGULE - a small sub-part of an organ of breathing
FUNULE - basic unit of enjoyment. Maximum value = exhilaration
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SOLECISM
PRONUNCIATION: (SOL-i-siz-ehm, SO-li-)
MEANING: noun:
1. A grammatical mistake or a nonstandard usage.
2. A breach of etiquette.
3. An error, inconsistency, or impropriety.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikismos, from soloikos (speaking incorrectly; literally, inhabitant of Soloi) after Soloi, an ancient Athenian colony in Cilicia where a dialect considered as substandard was spoken. Earliest documented use: 1577.
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SOLECISTM - the Sun, the Earth, and all the associated moons and satellites and asteroids and comets
SOLE-COSM - the flip side of the Multiverse
SOLE-ISM - a firm belief in the sanctity of one's Immortal Shoe
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MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
PRONUNCIATION: (man-CHOOR-ee-uhn KAN-di-det)
MEANING: noun: A person, especially a politician, acting as a puppet of a foreign power.
ETYMOLOGY: From the novel The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon. The term was popularized by a film (same title, 1962) based on the book. Manchuria is a region in the east between China and Russia. Earliest documented use: 1975.
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MANCHURIAN CANIDATE - stranger running for dog officer...
MANCHURIAN CANADATE - ...in Ottawa...
ANCHOVIAN CANDIDATE - ...there's something fishy going on here!
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DUNKIRK
PRONUNCIATION: (DUN-kurk)
MEANING: noun:
1. A desperate evacuation or retreat.
2. A crisis requiring drastic measures to avoid total disaster.
ETYMOLOGY: After Dunkirk (in French, Dunkerque), a seaport and town in northern France. In World War II, it was the site of evacuation of more than 330,000 Allied troops by sea while under German fire during May-June 1940. Earliest documented use: 1941.
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DUNK IRE - anger at being shoved unexpectedly into the swimming pool
DUNG IRK - ..and clean up after your @#$$%& elephants!
DUN KIRK - when the Scottish church won't pay its bills
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SIBERIA
PRONUNCIATION: (sy-BEER-ee-uh)
MEANING: noun: An undesirable or isolated location assigned to those who have fallen out of favor or are being disciplined.
ETYMOLOGY: After Siberia, a vast region of central and eastern Russia, used as a place of exile by Russia under the tsars and by the USSR. Earliest documented use: 1841. See also: gulag.
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SOBERIA - the Holy Grail of alcoholics
I, BERIA - autobiography of a Communist
S.I. BERRA - Yankee catcher has another career working for Sports Illustrated magazine
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ULTIMA THULE
PRONUNCIATION: (UL-tuh-muh THOO-lee)
MEANING: noun:
1. The northernmost part of the world believed habitable by the ancients.
2. A distant or remote goal or place.
3. The farthest point.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ultima (farthest) + Thule, a place believed by ancient people to be the northernmost, variously identified as Iceland, Norway, Greenland, or Shetland Islands. Earliest documented use: 1771.
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ALTIMA THULE - what you use to repair a Nissan (H pronounced as in "Thomas")
(also Thule Air Force Base in Greenland, for that matter)
ULTIMAT YULE - last Christmas
MULTI-MATH ULE - a low-energy technology with much mathematical underpinning
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HYPOCORISTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (hy-puh-kuh-RIS-tik, hip-uh-)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to a pet name or diminutive form of a name.
noun: A pet name or diminutive form of a name.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek hypokoristikos, from hypokorizesthai (to call by pet names), from hypo- (under) + kor- (child). Ultimately from Indo-European root ker- (to grow), which is also the source of other words such as increase, recruit, crew, crescent, cereal, concrete, crescendo, sincere, and Spanish crecer (to grow). Earliest documented use: 1796.
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HYPNOCORISTIC - putting the kids to sleep; lullaby-like
HYPOCHORISTIC - singing under your breath
THY POCO-RISTIC - your little flick of the hand
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FILIATION
PRONUNCIATION: (fil-ee-AY-shuhn)
MEANING: noun:
1. The fact of being descended or derived from someone or something.
2. The act of determining such relationship.
3. Forming of a new branch.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin filius (son). Earliest documented use: 1529.
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FIFIATION - transforming into a French poodle
CILIATION - developing hairlike projections all over
FILIATIRON - ferromagnetic wiring
FILINATION - a country of form-filler-outers
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TEKNONYMY - (or TECNONYMY)
PRONUNCIATION: (tek-NON-uh-mee)
MEANING: noun: The custom of naming a parent after their child.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek teknon (child) + -onym (name). Earliest documented use: 1888.
NOTES: If you have ever called your spouse Billy’s Dad or Billy’s Mom, you have practiced teknonymy. When we refer to a parent as a senior, as in Bush Sr. (or, to get fancy, Bush père), we are also doing a kind of teknonymy. It’s just that in some cultures teknonymy is practiced more formally and a parent is renamed after the birth of the first child. There are many reasons for using teknonymy. In some cultures, it’s considered taboo to call certain relations by name (as in the usage example below). Sometimes, it’s convenience. You may not know or remember the names of your child’s friends’ parents, for example, so you resort to teknonymy.
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TECH NO NY MY - No electronics in New York City? Amazing!
TECNOZYMY - genecically-engineered yeast
TECHNONYMY - web-surfing in incognito mode
TREKNONYMY - nobody knows the names of Picard and crew in this adventure that takes place in the Holodeck
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PUERPERAL
PRONUNCIATION: (pyoo-UHR-puhr-uhl)
MEANING: adjective: Relating to childbirth or following childbirth.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin puerpera (woman who has given birth), from puer (child) + -para (carrying), from parere (to bear). The Latin puer is ultimately from the Indo-European root pau- (few, little), which is also the source of few, foal, filly, pony, poor, pauper, poco, puerile, poltroon, pullulate, punchinello, and catchpole. Earliest documented use: 1716.
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GUERPERAL - warring
PUER-PERIAL - His Exalted Majesty is still only six
PUERTERAL - portly
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PEDANTIC
PRONUNCIATION: (puh-DAN-tik)
MEANING: adjective: Characterized by an excessive, narrow adherence to rules without practical judgment.
ETYMOLOGY: From French pédant or Italian pedante, perhaps from Latin paedagogare (to teach). Earliest documented use: 1607.
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PET ANTIC - my little doggie does the cutest trick
PEDIANTIC - and so does my kid
SEDAN TIC - my car gets a twitch at 31 mph
FED ANTIC - what's the Federal Reserve Bank trying to do now?
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