In a communication to some church folk, I used the word "hecticity" to describe the state in which too many people find themselves as the Feast of the Nativity approaches. What ought to be a calm and measured and reflective time (the essence of Advent) turns out to be frenetic and exhausting ... a time of hecticity. As so often happens, one recipient challenged the use of this term, going so far as to suggest that it is "not a word." Your sense?

http://www.langmaker.com/db/eng_hecticity.htm

I rather like hecticacious; but then I would, wouldn't I?!
(the noun form would be hecticaciousness, I suppose.)

Thanks for the link. I wouldn't pronounce it that way.

Hecticacious is nice, too.

no, it should be pronounced /hec TIS ity/.
-ron o.

it should be pronounced /hec TIS ity/.

On this important, nay, earthshaking matter, tsuwm and I are in perfect accord.

In reply to:

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it should be pronounced /hec TIS ity/.

On this important, nay, earthshaking matter, tsuwm and I are in perfect accord.

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D'accord! How else would one say it?

earthshaking

ain't you talking tecticity there?

good word, Padre. happy holidays!

The Langmaker website has it HECK-tis-ity.

>The Langmaker website has it HECK-tis-ity.

Well, I say to "niflheim with that!"

The Feast of the Nativity (the essence of Advent)

Sorry Padre, I know the guy who decides what is a word and he said that "hecticity"
is not a word.

But then he said, "What the heck, it's Christmas, don't sweat the small stuff, but you might ask the Good Reverend why does he not put a "the" in the front of "Advent"?

But I told him it was none of my business.

As so often happens, one recipient challenged the use of this term, going so far as to suggest that it is "not a word." Your sense?

He was too busy to give it a second thought, Father Steve.

Actually, I think it's a valuable, thought-provoking coinage.

I would like to suggest one wee change to marry it up with the endless, wearying round of activities, both solemn and festive, we associate with this season.

Why not call it "hectivities"?

I believe I will actually use "hectivities" during announcements at church this morning.

Of course this all started with moveable type. Gutenberg was setting the text of the Bible and reached into his font box. Alas, he had run out of the letter, causing him to mutter to himself, "Where the hecticity when you need one?"

"Where the hecticity when you need one?"

Gutenburg wasn't the type to run out of letters, TEd Rem. He was font of saying so himself.

one recipient challenged the use of this term, going so far as to suggest that it is "not a word."

Feel free to ask this naysayer my question, "What does it take for a collection of phonemes to qualify as a word?"