Brazilian dudeWeird Words: Epeolatry
The worship of words.
Though an appropriate term for this forum, it hasn’t achieved any great success in the world at large. It’s not even especially old, since its first known user, and presumably its creator, was Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his Professor at the Breakfast Table of 1860: “Time, time only, can gradually wean us from our Epeolatry, or word-worship, by spiritualizing our ideas of the thing signified.”
It derives from Greek epeos, a word, plus the -latry ending from Greek latreia, worship, that turns up also in words such as idolatry. For some reason, epeos lost out in the Greek-roots popularity stakes to logos. However, epic is from the same source, an epoist is a writer of epic poetry, and cacoepy means faulty pronunciation (a word that’s suitably easy to say wrongly: it’s , roughly CACO-ipi.)
Its appearances are so few that the tag “obscure” attached to it in some dictionaries is all too apt. However, I did find it in a work called Anurada Negotiates Our Wobbly Planet, a self-published title of 2006 by Roger Day: “I read my dictionary for a few more minutes, until tiredness eventually brought my epeolatry to an end for the day.”
Epeolatry
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- Grand Panjandrum
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Epeolatry
From the matchless www.worldwidewords.org.
Languages rule!
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- Lexiterian
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Re: Epeolatry
Lovely word, dude. What would the adjective and adverbs be, I wonder? Epeolatric, epeolatrically? And could one be accused of epeolatricity?From the matchless www.worldwidewords.org.
Brazilian dudeWeird Words: Epeolatry
The worship of words.
The adverb, especially, being a double dactyl, is particularly useful in composing poems of that type.
-- PW
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!!! What a ride!"
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Lexiterian
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I see. So "epeolatrously" (adverb). That doesn't scan as a double dactyl at all. Guess I'll have to make something up:Based on idolatry, I think it could be epeolater/epeolator (noun), epeolatrous (adjective) and epeolatry (noun).
Brazilian dude
How about epeocentric (adj), epeocentricity (n) and
epeocentrically (adv) for example. I like that.
So here's a Double Dactyl to celebrate:
Higgledy Piggledy
Dude the Brazilian
Forced the declension
Of quite a new word.
In celebration of
Epeocentricity
Palewriter thought the term
Not too absurd.
-- PW
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!!! What a ride!"
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- Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 1464
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:31 pm
- Location: Botucatu - SP Brazil
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- Lexiterian
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Sat Apr 09, 2005 11:59 pm
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:31 pm
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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. . .
So here's a Double Dactyl to celebrate:
Higgledy Piggledy
Dude the Brazilian
Forced the declension
Of quite a new word.
. . .
When a German gets his hands on an adjective, he declines it and keeps on declining it until the common sense is all declined out of it. That's right. I heard a Californian student in Heidelberg say, in one of his calmest moods, that he would rather decline two drinks than one German adjective.
-- Mark Twain
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
Great word, dude!
I am envisioning a commercial (Palewriter?) featuring an actor dressed as a GP.
GP is old enough to inspire confidence in his experience, yet young enough to appear in touch with the bleeding edge of medical research. His voice is authoritarian, yet caring. He smiles disarmingly at the camera while holding a clipboard and perching on the edge of an uncluttered desk, in front of a sunny window...[/size]
GP: Hi folks! Do you or your loved ones suffer from the debilitating social effects of Epeolatry? Are you tired of wasting your hard-earned wages in bookstores? Do you avoid social settings where your secret might be discovered? Well, relief is at hand: new EpX®.
cut to testimonial of recovering sufferer, smiling and well-adjusted...
RS: I used to dread going to meetings or parties, worrying about what to say. No more. Now that I've found EpX®, I'm happier, I've lost weight, found true love, and earn more money! Thanks, EpX®!
cut back to doctor, now standing in front of empty bookshelves
GP: Talk to your doctor about new EpX®. Within weeks of starting EpX® you'll experience a welcome relief of swollen vocabularies. You'll be glad you did!
announcer voiceover, speaking very rapidly...
EpX® should not be taken by language teachers, lawyers, or physicians, radio or tv talk show hosts, or politicians, or frequenters of the AlphaAgora. Mixing EpX® with other epeocides or alcohol could be dangerous when operating machinery. Tell your doctor about any other medications you are taking. EpX®'s generic name is Epeolocide®.
I am envisioning a commercial (Palewriter?) featuring an actor dressed as a GP.
GP is old enough to inspire confidence in his experience, yet young enough to appear in touch with the bleeding edge of medical research. His voice is authoritarian, yet caring. He smiles disarmingly at the camera while holding a clipboard and perching on the edge of an uncluttered desk, in front of a sunny window...[/size]
GP: Hi folks! Do you or your loved ones suffer from the debilitating social effects of Epeolatry? Are you tired of wasting your hard-earned wages in bookstores? Do you avoid social settings where your secret might be discovered? Well, relief is at hand: new EpX®.
cut to testimonial of recovering sufferer, smiling and well-adjusted...
RS: I used to dread going to meetings or parties, worrying about what to say. No more. Now that I've found EpX®, I'm happier, I've lost weight, found true love, and earn more money! Thanks, EpX®!
cut back to doctor, now standing in front of empty bookshelves
GP: Talk to your doctor about new EpX®. Within weeks of starting EpX® you'll experience a welcome relief of swollen vocabularies. You'll be glad you did!
announcer voiceover, speaking very rapidly...
EpX® should not be taken by language teachers, lawyers, or physicians, radio or tv talk show hosts, or politicians, or frequenters of the AlphaAgora. Mixing EpX® with other epeocides or alcohol could be dangerous when operating machinery. Tell your doctor about any other medications you are taking. EpX®'s generic name is Epeolocide®.
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