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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2 |
What a useful word! It so aptly describes — well, I won't go there, or this will become a discussion of religion and politics!
At first I wondered if there weren't maybe too many syllables in the word (and that perhaps it could be "grammolatry," but then I realized that the base is the Greek *plural*, which gives us the -ata ending. Although in English we refer to "the letter of the law," it is thoughtless attention to the *letters* strung together in a sentence that this word describes: Letters without spirit.
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1 |
So Anu, does this make you a High Priest of Grammatolatry and we readers of Word A Day your congregation ;)?
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154 |
Nah, High priests don't have this much fun playing with their idols.
ummm,
I hope.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
well, idol play is the devil's handwork.
or something.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
At first I wondered if there weren't maybe too many syllables in the word (and that perhaps it could be "grammolatry," but then I realized that the base is the Greek *plural*, which gives us the -ata ending.
Not really. The nominative singular might be gramma but the root is grammat- and it shows up in all the other cases, singular and plural.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
and it shows up in all the other cases
It's a neuter noun, so the nominative and accusative singular are both gramma, while the other cases use the stem grammat as Faldo says.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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