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Aug 26, 2026
This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
solivagant
hyperphagia
ophidiophobia

ophidiophobia
The Punishment of Loki, 1912
Art: J. Doyle Penrose

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ophidiophobia

PRONUNCIATION:
(oh-fi-dee-oh-FO-bee-uh)

MEANING:
noun: An abnormal fear of snakes.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek ophis (snake) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1914.

NOTES:
If you suffer from ophidiophobia you don’t want any hiss-tory with these reptiles. It’s one of the few phobias that can really constrict your outdoor activities.

USAGE:
“But the moment we all knew this dude would live to 80 was when he was trapped in the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark, surrounded by a couple of million poisonous snakes and a raging case of ophidiophobia, then managed to get out using a torch and a bull whip.”
Rex Huppke; Harrison Ford Turns 80, and Here Are All the Reasons We Should Assume He’s Immortal; USA Today (McLean, Virginia); Jul 13, 2022.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We can pay our debt to the past by putting the future in debt to ourselves. -John Buchan, poet, novelist, and politician (26 Aug 1875-1940)

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