escapemn

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• escapemn commented on the list escapemn-s-list

  Love this word! I read it first in the Edward Gorey book "The Epiplectic Bicycle". Here's a definition from http://www.drbilllong.com/Words/EpiI.html:

  Epiplexis/Epiplectic

  We are mistaken if we see the root "plex" in epiplexis. If that were the root, it would remind us of a number of ways it is used in English (such as "apoplexy," "solar plexus" and "plexiglass" or maybe, increasingly, a "multiplex" theater) and would mean "weave" or "plait" or "combine." But the word behind epiplexis is epiplessein, meaning "to rebuke" or "punish" or "chastise." Epiplexis is then a Greek word meaning "criticism" or "rebuke." It was taken over into English, however, in a rhetorical context and first defined in 1678 as a "figure in Rhetorick which by an elegant kind of upbrading, endeavours to convince."

  An epiplexis then would be a gentle chiding, or possibly a statement that seeks to shame the hearers into performing better next time or to spring into action right now. "His epiplectic address to the crowd backfired on him." Or, "epiplexis is one of the strongest motivators known to us." Or, to use words that we might be more familiar with, "Don't get apoplectic over his epiplectic fit." Also you need to distinguish epiplectic from epileptic. The latter literally means to "take over" or "take upon," and refers to a disease of the nervous system characterized by serious paroxysms. The condition just "takes upon" a person and often leads to falling on the ground and passing out. It was known in English of a few centuries ago as the "falling sickness."

  Ultimately, it seems to me that epiplexis is really a form of asteism--a gentle way of trying to persuade others to see things your way and act accordingly.

  July 17, 2009