"possessing or holding all things" - The Endangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
"to turn into a bat" - The Endgangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York)
One place where thelyphthoric is listed is in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971, Oxford University Press), which marks it as both obsolete and a nonce word. Two citations appear, from 1780 and 1794, I think.
From arcamax.com, where the word was featured as "Today's Word" on 3/6/05: Today's word was the creation of Martin Madan, who wrote in 1780 "Thelyphthora or, A treatise on female ruin: in its causes, effects, consequences, prevention, and remedy." Madan put this word together from Greek thelus "woman" + phthora "destruction, ruin." Both Greek words have resisted efforts of etymologists to dissipate their mystery.
The word tendentious is used to describe something (an account, document, depiction, Wikipedia article, etc.) that's biased. What adjective refers to a topic that's highly subject to such bias, even though it could be presented in a balanced way?
I'm still wondering about a word to denote the adoption of an ostensibly defensible position, but more to annoy than because one really believes in it. Surely there is such a word?
A word for "rejecting the old"? Good question. We have misoneism and the evidently synonymous misocainia for rejecting the new. It seems there should be something for a similar attitude with regard to the customary, or traditional. Starting with the same "mis(o)-" prefix, one might look for something related to the Greek "ethos." ('misethism"?) However, Google appears to be ignorant of such a word.
A "real word" that comes to mind is "progressivism." However, that seems to have a political connotation, doesn't it? Perhaps an exploration of its synonyms?
There must be a word for this: the supporting of a thing that is, in fact, putatively meritorious, but largely because it will offend someone one finds annoying.
Comments by retorick
retorick commented on the list it-has-a-name
A word designating the eighth power of a number has a place here, I ween. All together, now: zenzizenzizenzic.
April 19, 2013
retorick commented on the word aeolistic
"long-winded" - The Endangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company)
February 13, 2013
retorick commented on the word advesperate
"to get dark or late" - The Endangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company)
February 13, 2013
retorick commented on the word cunctitenant
"possessing or holding all things" - The Endangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
February 13, 2013
retorick commented on the word vespertilionize
"to turn into a bat" - The Endgangered English Dictionary - Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot (David Grambs, 1994, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York)
February 13, 2013
retorick commented on the word thelyphthoric
One place where thelyphthoric is listed is in The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971, Oxford University Press), which marks it as both obsolete and a nonce word. Two citations appear, from 1780 and 1794, I think.
From arcamax.com, where the word was featured as "Today's Word" on 3/6/05: Today's word was the creation of Martin Madan, who wrote in 1780 "Thelyphthora or, A treatise on female ruin: in its causes, effects, consequences, prevention, and remedy." Madan put this word together from Greek thelus "woman" + phthora "destruction, ruin." Both Greek words have resisted efforts of etymologists to dissipate their mystery.
http://www.arcamax.com/knowledge/vocabulary/s-22625-956164#BC4b82xmRdGrj7Jz.99 "
January 25, 2013
retorick commented on the list lost-for-word
The word tendentious is used to describe something (an account, document, depiction, Wikipedia article, etc.) that's biased. What adjective refers to a topic that's highly subject to such bias, even though it could be presented in a balanced way?
February 29, 2012
retorick commented on the list lost-for-word
I'm still wondering about a word to denote the adoption of an ostensibly defensible position, but more to annoy than because one really believes in it. Surely there is such a word?
February 29, 2012
retorick commented on the list lost-for-word
I'd accept iconoclastic as a good candidate for "rejecting the old."
February 29, 2012
retorick commented on the list lost-for-word
A word for "rejecting the old"? Good question. We have misoneism and the evidently synonymous misocainia for rejecting the new. It seems there should be something for a similar attitude with regard to the customary, or traditional. Starting with the same "mis(o)-" prefix, one might look for something related to the Greek "ethos." ('misethism"?) However, Google appears to be ignorant of such a word.
A "real word" that comes to mind is "progressivism." However, that seems to have a political connotation, doesn't it? Perhaps an exploration of its synonyms?
February 26, 2012
retorick commented on the list lost-for-word
There must be a word for this: the supporting of a thing that is, in fact, putatively meritorious, but largely because it will offend someone one finds annoying.
February 26, 2012