This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
palooka
lycanthropy
heliophobia
pizzaiolo
sciamachy

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ly-KAN-thruh-pee)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A delusion that one has transformed into a wolf.
2. The process of or ability to transform into a wolf.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek lykos (wolf) + -anthropy (human). Earliest documented use: 1584.

NOTES:

Here are some more animal-delusion anthropies:
cynanthropy: dog
boanthropy: cow or ox
cervanthropy: deer
hippanthropy: horse
zoanthropy: animal
But not all anthropies are alike. Philanthropy is not the delusional belief that one is named Phil. Misanthropy is somewhat the opposite of philanthropy, and apanthropy is a desire to be away from people.

USAGE:

“I refuse to believe someone would be stupid enough to infect someone with lycanthropy to have a better mall security guard.”
R.J. Blain; Last but not Leashed; Pen & Page; 2018.

See more usage examples of lycanthropy in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: