Monday, June 14, 2010

Feliconyms

Today has been quite the feliconymous day! What do I mean by that? I mean that it has been simply chock-full of feliconyms. What is a feliconym, you may ask. Well, I'll tell you...


Main Entry: fe·lic·o·nym

Pronunciation: \fi-'li-sō-nim\

Function: noun

Etymology: Late-Modern English, from Middle English felicite, from Anglo-French felicité, from Latin felicitat-, felicitas, from felic-, felix fruitful, happy, + Old High German namo name, Latin nomen, Greek onoma, onyma

Date: Late 20th century

1 : a word that is fun to say or amuses

2 : a term or phrase which could be said to roll off the tongue


To be more precise, “feliconym” is a word that I made up sometime more than ten but less than fifteen years ago. I was so frustrated that I couldn't find a word to describe words that are fun to say that I just went ahead and made one up. Therefore, a feliconym is literally a friendly (felicitas) word (nomen).

Examples of great feliconyms include—but are by no means limited to—“serendipity,” “moratorium,” and “perpendicular.” Go ahead, have FUN with your words today!

No comments:

Post a Comment