OREXIGENIC

[Dr. Goodword]

• orexigenic •

Pronunciation: o-rek-sê-jen-ik • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Stimulating the appetite, causing a desire for food.

Notes: Today's adjective supports an adverb, orexigenically, and a very rare noun, orexigenesis. One of its components, orexis, is also the medical term for appetite. Now, the negative prefix in Greek, corresponding to English un-, is a(n)-. The [n] appears only before vowels, like the [n] in English a/an. So, anorexic, built on the same word, orexis, means "having no appetite".

In Play: Here is the obvious use of today's word: "Dot Matrix put together a very orexigenic dinner in less than an hour." However, to the extent we can hunger for things other than food, I see no reason why we could not adapt this word for those situations: "I want a series of orexigenic ads that build the viewer's appetite for a new car—our car."

Word History: Today's Good Word is a fake Greek compound put together by a clever scientist at the beginning of the 20th century from orexis "yearning, desire" + genikos "related to the origin or cause". Orexis is a noun from the verb oregein "to stretch, reach for, desire". The root is related to Latin regio "line, direction" and regula "straight rod" from which our word for the measuring rod called the (straight) rule comes from. The concept of being straight and true (right), was long associated with the other kind of ruler, too, Latin rex, regis "king", as in our regal. But then this kind of ruler also has a long reach.

[sluggo]

Excellent word, Doc!

Interesting that it's a modern invention. Seeing that immediately brought this one to mind, which I see has already been done.

[Perry Lassiter]

I note the word "straight" used here, which stirred up my wondering about the source of all the "ght" words in English: e.g. night, bright, fright, etc. I suspect simplified spelling will overtake this weird formulation as texting, etc. leads people to simplify. I myself in informal situations almost always write "Nite" and often "lite." The latter has already come into the language in food advertising.

[damoge]

I note the word "straight" used here, which stirred up my wondering about the source of all the "ght" words in English: e.g. night, bright, fright, etc. I suspect simplified spelling will overtake this weird formulation as texting, etc. leads people to simplify. I myself in informal situations almost always write "Nite" and often "lite." The latter has already come into the language in food advertising.

I think they come from German. knicht, knight, nacht, night-- a lot of such words are spelled with a "g" in Dutch, which makes me think that might have been the original form.

BTW, I thought the correct form of the word for someone suffering from anorexia was "anorectic."
Wrong again?

[damoge]

BTW, my thanks to the powers that be for giving the easy access to the discussion of the words on the page with the new word.

[Slava]

[BTW, I thought the correct form of the word for someone suffering from anorexia was "anorectic."
Wrong again?

Yes and no. An anorexic is anorectic. The former is the formal word for someone with anorexia nervosa, which makes them not have an appetite, i.e. anorectic. Commonly confused, and the latter word is sometimes used as the noun, but technically, anorexic is the noun, anorectic is the adjective.

[damoge]

Got it. Thanks.

[saparris]

Got it. Thanks.

So now you have the skinny on anorexic/anorectic.

[Slava]

So now you have the skinny on anorexic/anorectic.

Now then, to get really skinny, do we need an orexicide?

[saparris]

Now then, to get really skinny, do we need an orexicide?

No. We just need to call an anorexorcist.