|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
i can't offer any clever alternatives for "brokenhearted" well, except for the obvious: that it totally sucks, [whiter-thanksF]and if your reason for posting this was at all *from the heart, you have my heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery[/whiter] but it does remind me of one of my favorite weird words: anacampserote (YCLIU)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
what Mrs. B. neglected to tell us on this one is that anacampserote is an herb, whose touch was reputed to restore departed love.
|
|
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
... and if *that doesn't work, you just roll it up and smoke it, then you don't give a hoot about him. alas, it's a temporary fix, thoughjim, is anacampserote in the OED? what's the etymology? any relation to anacamptic? is there some kind of narcissus connection, maybe?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,561 Likes: 1 |
strong emotion makes the heart beat more/harder... with endorphins or enzymes or...
Close enough. It's epinephrine, a.k.a. Adrenalin, and various other activators of the Sympathetic Nervous System, giving rise to what's more commonly known as the "fight-flight-or-fright reaction." (I leave it to the reader to decide which one it is when you see your heart's desire.) The heart pounds and races, the nostrils flare, eyes dilate, blood vessels constrict, pressure rises, and a host of more subtle effects also take place, and the body is ready for action of whatever kind. The effect is diminished by the "beta-blockers" such as Lopressor and Inderal and Toprol and Corgard and atenolol and several other names besides. Take heed, all ye high blood pressure and angina sufferers.
Officially it isn't called "Adrenalin" these days, mainly because decades ago some pharmaceutical outfit copyrighted the scientific name and got the medical community so up in arms over the sheer effrontery that they went and translated it from Latin to Greek {Adrenalin = ad + renal = the gland above the kidney = epi + nephros = epinephrine, its modern name} so's Not to Use That Name any more. That showed 'em!
Now aren't you glad you asked?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
jim, is anacampserote in the OED? what's the etymology? any relation to anacamptic? is there some kind of narcissus connection, maybe?[/blur]
yes. it comes from Greek roots meaning 'to bend back' + 'love'. anacamptic comes from the same 'to bend back' root, but mainly relates to sound. narcissus is connected in the same way that Pliny is connected to Plutarch.
-jim beam
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,372
Members9,182
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
220
guests, and
2
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|