Onychophagia

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Dr. Goodword
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Onychophagia

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Sep 02, 2022 6:34 pm

• onychophagia •


Pronunciation: ah-nê-kê-fay-ji-ê • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural)

Meaning: The nervous habit of biting the nails, usually those on the fingers, since our nerves seldom drive us to nibble those on our toes.

Notes: A nail-biter is an onychophagic, the personal noun, which does double duty as the adjective, as in "His onychophagic impulses are so strong, Hans Orf wears gloves and shoes around the clock." A doctor specializing in this minor disorder would be, I guess, an onychophagiologist.

In Play: "Why do I need this word?" you are asking yourself. Well, it has several uses. If you are a nail-biter, it serves as a term that suggests that nail-biting is a medical condition, shifting any blame from your shoulders: "I use artificial nails to cover up the damage caused by my onychophagia." If you would like to stop someone in your family from biting their nails, here is just the word to scare them into doing it: "Weldon, if you don't learn to control your onychophagia I will have to take you to an onychophagiologist for treatment."

Word History: Today's peculiar word is a Greek compound comprising the root of onyx (onycho-) "(finger/toe) nail" + phagia "eating". The Greeks used their word for "nail" to name the gemstone from which cameos are made (onyx) because of the similarity in color. Phagia "eating" is the noun form of phagein "to eat", a verb whose root is also visible in sarcophagus. Sarcophagus means "flesh-eater" from the fact that ancient Greeks believed that the limestone sarcophagi they buried their dead in ate away the flesh. (We won't leave you biting your nails any longer but will reveal right now that our Brazilian friend and Good Word editor, Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira, suggested today's Good Word.)
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David Myer
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby David Myer » Sun Sep 04, 2022 6:54 am

Most interesting, once again.
The Greeks used their word for "nail" to name the gemstone from which cameos are made (onyx) because of the similarity in color.
When I worked in the men's jewellery industry in the 1960s, we carried a range of onyx cuff links. As I recall they were jet black.

So if my memory serves me well, where do onyx finger nails come from? And aren't cameos usually a bone sort of colour on a reddish background? I think I am confused.

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Slava
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby Slava » Sun Sep 04, 2022 2:27 pm

Excellent question. Etymonline gives us this about onyx, "So called because the mineral's color sometimes resembles that of a human fingernail, pink with white streaks." So how did onyx come to be jet black in modern English? :?
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George Kovac
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby George Kovac » Mon Sep 05, 2022 8:57 am

I agree. Sometimes there is no accounting for colorful language. Not just in English. The Spanish word “rubia” means “blond” not “red.” My favorite local beer here in Miami is “La Rubia.” It’s a blond ale.
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby Dr. Goodword » Mon Sep 05, 2022 10:42 pm

Maybe our fingernails have changed color since the ancient Greeks?
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Debbymoge
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby Debbymoge » Tue Sep 06, 2022 11:41 am

changed color or

dirt?
fad of banging nails with hammers?
early nail polish?

about as likely to find a "real" answer as to understand how "we" learned to pronounce and translate P I E, especially since, as I understand it, we're not all that sure how to pronounce words in our own language, and argue forever about the pronunciation of Latin

Oh well, just adds to the fun, no? Anything to keep the old grey cells awake.
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Re: Onychophagia

Postby George Kovac » Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:58 am

True that. The long and short of it is that contemporary native speakers of English can't even agree on the proper pronunciation of "divisive." I've got the "data" to back that up.
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016


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