This is a rather random word site, but there are some fun words here too. There are some good German loanwords. German words always have such complicated definitions; look at "scheissenbedauern." When would you use that word?

Good site, Kalleh!

hypnerotomachia (HIP-nur-oh-tuh-MAK-ee-uh)
the struggle between sleep and sexual desire

I had no idea there was a word for that! So . . . what would you call someone who lets sleep win more often than not? And the person who doesn't???

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Originally posted by Caterwauller:
Good site, Kalleh!

hypnerotomachia (HIP-nur-oh-tuh-MAK-ee-uh)
the struggle between sleep and sexual desire

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I'm not so sure. I don't put much stock in sites such as this. The definitions of many of the words are dubious. Since I can't find them in any other dictionary, I question them. Hypnerotomachia, for example, seems to be a word coined for a book published in Venice in 1499, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. This site gives a different meaning for the word:

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Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Fun Facts:

1. The title "Hypnerotomachia" is an invented word drawn from the Greek roots for "sleep" (as in "hypnotize"), "love/lust" (as in "erotic"), and "struggle/strife" (as in "naumachia," the mock sea-fights held by ancient Romans). The title thus literally means something like "Struggle for love in a dream," and describes what the main character, Poliphilo, spends the entire story doing: searching for his beloved in a dream.

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Tinman

Ahhhh - I knew it was too good to be true that there was actually a word.

Of course, with English . . . if it's in print it can be a real word right? How many times does a word need to be used/published to make it a real word?

Of course, with English . . . if it's in print it can be a real word right? How many times does a word need to be used/published to make it a real word?

It needs to be used once before its inclusion in a dictionary, otherwise folks like me will think it isn't really a word but something the lexicographer ate which isn't agreeing with him.

I don't put much stock in sites such as this.

Tinman, that's precisely what my husband said.

As for hypnerotomachia there are over 10,000 sites listed in Google for that word, though many of them refer to the book Tinman cites. The fact is, when you read the Greek roots for the word, you can surely see how the definition on that site was derived.

As far as "when is a word considered a word," well, that probably should be the motto of this site. Time and time again we get back to that. With jheem's definition any word can be coined, used in print (I assume the Web is considered "print?"), and then put in some online dictionary. That wouldn't take much. In that case, the big distinction would be the date of the dictionary inclusion vs. the date the word was first published.

I would think use of the word in conversation would be a criterion, too. That's just not so easy to identify.

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I don't put much stock in sites such as this.

Tinman, that's precisely what my husband said.

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Smart man.

Tinman

Time and time again we get back to that. With jheem's definition any word can be coined, used in print (I assume the Web is considered "print?"), and then put in some online dictionary.

I would instead suggest this quotation from Jules Gillieron, the French linguist who invented dialect studies in the 19th century: "Chaque mot à son histoire." (Every word has its history.) Rather than trying to come up with a single rule for every putative word, I'd suggest looking it over and trying to figure out (as I have tried) its history.

Hypnerotomachia
Well, there is a Greek word hupneros 'drowsiness'. And makhe does mean 'battle, combat'. The one English translation has the title: The Strife of Love in a Dream. And as far as we can tell (the text borders on the unintelligible) that's what it "means".

My favorite title with -machy / -machia in it, is the mock epic (attributed to Homer): Batrakhomuomakhia 'the war between the frogs and the mice' < batrakhos 'frog' + mus 'mouse'.

This site gives a different meaning for the word:

Tinman, as jheem has taught me, many words have very different meanings. The meaning evolves. For this word, it seems perfectly possible that it could have evolved to that meaning, considering its etymology. However, as far as the Web site, I suppose we should take the words with a grain of salt until we can validate them. I like jheem's discussion about doing that.

jheem, I like your methodology for deciding if a word is a word. I wish I could find all our other discussions of that (searching for "word" here would be endless!), but I don't think you have said that before. It seems very logical.

Reviving a very old thread...

I hated to start a thread about this word - because it's really not a word - but it is interesting and I think it should be a word. Maybe someday it will be. Here it is: hypovehiculation - the act of throwing someone under the bus.

The reason I like it is because people at my office use that phrase all the time: "She threw me under the bus in the Board meeting." Next time I hear that phrase I plan to say, "Hypovehiculation, huh?"

hypovehiculation

Along the lines of defenestration I s'pose.

That seems to me be be a pretty malformed coinage. "Hypo-" as a prefix meaning "under" I have no quarrel with, but "vehiculation"? That seems to mean (or meant) "the act of carrying in a vehicle" or "riding in a vehicle". The whole word, therefore, seems to mean "under riding/carrying in a vehicle", which makes no sense unless the person is riding on one of the axles. The "vehiculation" part comes from the Latin vehiculum, so the word is that anathema to pedants, a hybrid of ancient Greek and Latin.

Latin has a perfectly acceptable word, sub, to mean "under", so "subvehiculation" might be better. However, how about subversion? Literally, "under turning" or "under the wheels".

BTW, I found a posting in a Yahoo group where the author seems to claim the credit for coming up with the abomination.

Since "vehicle" means a lot more than "automobile," it is not accurate. For example, a textbook is a vehicle for learning; a bicycle is a mechanical transportation vehicle, as is a skateboard. Thus if someone "throws the book at you," but you duck, this is hypovehiculation too.

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Originally posted by arnie:
That seems to me be be a pretty malformed coinage.

How about a good old Anglo-Saxon version: underwain. So much clearer.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: goofy,

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Since "vehicle" means a lot more than "automobile," it is not accurate.

Yes, I was thinking of that, too, Geoff. However, it's for "bus," and not "automobile." Still, it isn't accurate.