Entomology

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Dr. Goodword
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Entomology

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:29 pm

• entomology •


Pronunciation: en-tê-mah-lê-jee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural)

Meaning: That branch of zoology focusing on the study of insects.

Notes: The major trap to beware of is confusing this word with etymology "the study of the history of words". Every day we offer the etymology of the Good Word under the heading of "Word History". Someone who is engaged in entomological study is an entomologist.

In Play: Since this word refers to a scientific specialty, its use is limited: "BU has a strong entomology program. Some of the best people in the field are there." Still, we can have fun with it: "Arthur's son, David, took his love of bugging people to college; he's majoring in entomology."

Word History: Entomology comes from the Greek entomon, the neuter of entomos "cut in two", referring to most insects' segmented bodies. The verb underlying this past participle is entemnein "to cut into", comprising en- "in(to)" + temnein "to cut". (Latin insectum "insect" is a loan translation of the Greek, made up of in "in(to) + sect(um) "cut".) English helped itself to several words from Greek based on this root: anatomy "the study of the uncut body", lobotomy "removal of a lobe of the brain" and atom "uncuttable, indivisible particle" (which we now know is divisible). We see it also in temple from Latin templum, which apparently referred to a place that was cleared of trees, cut out of the forest, where auguries were carried out. (We don't know where Dan Joseph's interest in entomology comes from, but we are glad he bugged us with his suggestion that we work it up as today's Good Word.)
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Slava
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Re: Entomology

Postby Slava » Fri Oct 15, 2021 9:37 pm

I wonder why they chose 'cut in two.' Wouldn't something that means 'cut in two places' be more to the point? That's one of the defining bits for an insect, being tripartite.
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George Kovac
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Re: Entomology

Postby George Kovac » Fri Oct 15, 2021 10:25 pm

Dr GoodWord wrote:
We don't know where Dan Joseph's interest in entomology comes from


Well, why not a little entomology on the side?

Some people who are better known for their unrelated published work retained a lifelong interest in the subject. For example, Alfred Kinsey and Vladimir Nabokov were both professionally trained entomologists. But they understood that the market for books about bugs was limited, so they chose to write about sexier topics.

As a writer, only Franz Kafka was able to capitalize on his interest in entomology.
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016

bbeeton
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Re: Entomology

Postby bbeeton » Sat Oct 16, 2021 11:00 am

Oh, my! A glitch, leading to a potential misunderstanding! Is this the result of incorrect audio-to-print conversion? (And never blindly trust a spell checker.)

A browser search on the etymology of entomology unearths the meaning "cut into". "Cut in two" is "cut in two pieces", not "cut in two places", which yields three pieces (as correctly noted by Slava).

But I love this word. For many years, I was the designated "bug collector" for the TeX typesetting software, and delighted in being able to refer to myself as the "TeX entomologist".

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Re: Entomology

Postby Philip Hudson » Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:39 am

bbeeton: You have mentioned typesetting software before. I was program manager for the development of a typesetting system many years ago. It was quite a nice system but the company president absconded with the company's cash and we folded. I got calls from a federal agency for many years asking if the individual had ever come back to the USA. But he never did. He was hiding out in Egypt.
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George Kovac
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Re: Entomology

Postby George Kovac » Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:54 pm

It's a small world after all.

Perhaps the word "entomology" should not be considered of uncommon or obscure interest.

Two books by or about the prominent entomologist E.O. Wilson are the subject of a highly favorable review in the October 16/17, 2021 issue of the Wall Street Journal, "Small Subjects, Infinite Wonder" by Christopher Irmscher. Apart from being a prominent bugman, Wilson is accomplished in literature, having won several awards for his novels, including two Pulitzer Prizes.

The first book covered in the WSJ review is a biography "Scientist: E.O. Wilson, a Life in Nature," by Richard Rhodes. The other book is a thousand-page collection of Wilson's essays published as part of the prestigious Library of America series under the title "E.O. Wilson: Biophilia, The Diversity of Life, Naturalist," edited by David Quammen.

The title of that Library of America tome contains a lovely word I have not encountered before. It should be a candidate for a Goodword of the day: "biophilia." Yes, the world could use an outbreak of biophilia right now.
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016

Philip Hudson
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Re: Entomology

Postby Philip Hudson » Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:06 am

George: I just noticed your reference to Franz Kafka. It slipped away from me on my first reading. Apt and Funnneee!
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.


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