Welcome to The Mad Logophile. Here we explore words; their origins, evolution, usage. Words are alive. They are born, they evolve and, sometimes, they die. They are our principal tool for communicating with one another. There are millions of words yet only an estimated 171,476 words are in common current use. As a logophile, I enjoy discovering new words, using them and learning about their origins. Please join me and other word lovers as we delve into the wonderful world of words.
This week is a repeat. I am very sorry to do it but I'm unable to sit for more than a few minutes at a time at the computer. Why? Well, it could have something to do with the head-on collision I was in 2 weeks ago. The lingering effects of taking the energy of the crash in the center of my chest, I guess. Thankfully, the only real damage was to our poor car. But in the meantime, my online time is severely limited. Yeah, November has been a pretty sucky month for me.
Please enjoy this re-run and add more to it if you can... Sorry for the lack of pictures but I can't find the ones I used before.
This week we learn some new words.... okay, knowing this crowd they will not all be new (I admit that I knew a few of them already, too). But here are some pretty interesting words that are obscure and/or not used much in the vernacular. Some are foreign words that should be adopted into English. Some are words that are used very specifically. A few are anachronistic. All are fascinating...
How about we begin with politics, shall we?
Let's start off with one that seems to fit several people at the moment: anorchous (an-ORK-us) meaning "without testicles." While it's not strictly a political word, it seems to fit the category at the moment. I'm sure we can easily apply this to many Congress Critters who need to grow a pair. Hey, do you think that Harry Reid is anorchous? On the other hand, polyorchidous (pol-ee-ORK-i-dus) is a man with three (or more) testicles. That Alan Grayson is darn polyorchidous!
A plunderboond (PLOON-dur-boond) is a group of business and/or political interests that exploits the public. This kind of group has the motive of getting together and taking the suckers for all they can. A perfect example is Enron and the companies that helped them rip off so many people with exorbitant energy prices by creating a shortage. I think the bankers have formed a plunderboond and they're getting away with it, too.
Many of us, and unfortunately only a few of our politicians, are a contestaire (con-tes-TAIR). Rosa Parks was one. Nelson Mandella was one, too. They challenged the establishment with such intensity and dedication that they caused large-scale social transformation. Gandhi was a contestaire!
Someone who is not afraid to express an unpopular opinion has what the Germans call zivilcourage (ZEE-veal-koo-RAHJ). The First Amendment protects this right (at least from the Government taking it away) but many who speak of those unpopular ideas and actions are usually the first ones shouted down. What a shame. We should always be willing to hear every opinion, even unpopular ones. I know many with zivilcourage on Daily Kos.
There are those who are politically and socially conscious and those who are not. And those who just don't give a damn. The ones who don't give a damn have a name in Japanese; masa bodoa (MAH-sah boh-DOE-ah). They are so passive and unaware that they hardly know what's going on on the other side of their front door. They still vote, they just don't really know what they are voting for... or against. The ones who have a studied indifference, who say "One vote doesn't matter" or "I leave the politics to the politicians," these people are qualunquismo (kwal-un-KEES-mo). Those of us who are conscious and active in the social and political arena are insaf (EEN-sof), an Indonesian word that describes those who participate in campaigns, elections, debates. Those of us who give our time, money and attention to the causes we support. This word implies that this consciousness is a precious and beautiful thing. Do you consider yourself insaf or qualunquismo, or are you just masa bodoa?
President Obama has talked about service and brought up the idea of a year of service for your country. This is also a Indonesian concept that Obama may very well have learned in his years there. They call it dharma bakti (DAR-ma BAHK-tee) and it is considered to be not only beneficial for the country, but an important part of a person's spiritual development. The young people of this country should consider dharma bakti to be essential.
Relationships are difficult to deal with even with the words we already have. How about a few more that may help?
You know that feeling you have for someone you used to love? Kind of hard to put into words but the Russians have one for it; razbliuto (ros-blee-OO-toe). So, instead of defaulting to the old "I love you bu I'm not IN love with you" warhorse, try using this word. I'm sorry Mr. Nader, I have nothing but razbliuto for you.
On the other hand, maybe you would like to revive an old love-affair. In that case, the Italians compare your attempts to trying to reheat cabbage, cavoli riscaldati (kuh-VOH-lee ree-scal-DOH-tee) because both are messy and distasteful. If an old lover asks you to take him/her back and you think it's not such a great idea, try this phrase. I'm sorry Sam, but getting back together would be cavoli riscaldati.
Sometimes men mess up. And sometimes women are hard on them when they do. The Germans have a word for the inevitable flowers or chocolates that the male must often bring to the female as a sign of contrition. The drachenfutter (DROK-un-foo-ter) is a peace offering usually given when a husband has stayed out late playing cards or whatever, to assuage their wife's anger. The literal translation is "dragon fodder" and can be adopted for use by either gender. Any gift you give someone because you had too much fun can be a drachenfutter. Hey guys, I have to swing by the store for a drachenfutter if we're going to be out late.
A group of people who are working together for the same goal can be said to be co-operating. But that's not deep enough for some community-oriented tasks. The Indonesians have a word for that kind of co-operation. Rojong (roy-YONG) literally means "to bear a load together." It refers to things such as a community barn-raising like the Amish do or the PTA having a bake sale to raise money for the band trip. Mutual benefit is the key. The Indiana Democrats worked in rojong to turn their state blue.
To carry that concept even further, the Indonesians talk of tjotjong (CHOT-chog). This is a useful word that means "to fit." It can be used for friends who click, soul mates, co-workers who seem to mesh together or even a name that fits your personality. Further, when a group works together so well, physically, emotionally, spiritually, that their efforts seem to be almost supernatural, they have tjotjog. The Obama campaign really had tjotjog.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say. How many words do we have to describe beauty? A cursory search turns up twenty. But we can always use a few more. The Japanese have spent many years on the refinement of beauty. They have some very specific words to describe it.
Some think beauty must be perfect. Not the Japanese. They have a word for that flaw which makes an object more beautiful. This small flaw distinguishes the spirit of the object, the feel of the moment it was created, unique of all moments in eternity. This is wabi (WAH-bee). The antique desk that bears the marks of the brush that finished it. The lopsided tree, even that pair of shoes you've broken in just right. These all have wabi. Those of us who collect things no doubt have a pretty good idea of the truth in this word. That old teapot sure has wabi, doesn't it?
Old objects have another aspect of beauty. That patina of age is sabi (SAW-bee). When my husband took up the guitar, he bought an old acoustic that had been rubbed on the back by a belt buckle. The pattern and color was its sabi; it made the object beautiful. He could have refinished the body but then it would have been an affront to its sabi. It's considered a violation of the object to clean such a patina away. That statue certainly has sabi!
Not all beauty lasts. Some is so ephemeral that we can only appreciate it briefly. This appreciation is aware (ah-WAH-ray). Those flowers will wilt soon, so we enjoy them while we can. That cloud formation. The sunset. These things are fleeting and aware is our understanding of this and our recognition of these evanescent things. When we caught the green flash in Hawai'i we experienced aware.
Then there is the beauty which only time can reveal. Shibui (shi-BOO-ee) is our understanding that with age comes character. Who would drink a whiskey right out of the distiller? Would that rock look better with the moss stripped from it? The faces of the elderly display shibui. Those wrinkles and folds show their life experiences, their personalities. Don't complain about gray hairs and laugh lines, they show your shibui.
Often the feeling of an experience stays with us long after it is over. This is yoin (yoh-EEN) and can best be expressed by a quote from the poet Matsuo Basho: The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers. Any experience that is so deep that one feels its reverberations fits this description. One of my favorites is watching my favorite band play live for the very last time. I can close my eyes and listen to the recording and I am there again. I'm sure we all have perfect examples of this.
Feelings... nothing more than feelings.... No, I'm not doing a Morris Albert imitation. I'm trying to introduce the next section. ;)
Have you ever felt like you've been the subject of gossip? The inhabitants of Easter Island have a word for that. Anga-anga (ON-gah-ON-gah) is the thought, maybe it's not true, that you are being gossiped about. Often the thought is due to a sense of guilt. I bet Pres. Obama can't help but feel anga-anga now and then.
So, you're at your desk, working hard on a report. Your boss comes along and hovers. This makes you nervous, you might lose your composure. Maybe mess up. You are fisselig (FISS-il-ig). This German word is better than flustered or edgy or agitated because it lays the blame exactly where it should be - with the unwanted supervision from your boss. Call me back Hon, the boss has me all fisselig.
Sunday morning. You wake up slowly and realize that today is a bettschwere (BET-shvare) kind of day. "Bed weariness" is a wonderful frame of mind when you have the opportunity. It's the feeling that you really can't do anything but snuggle down under the covers and enjoy a day of torpor. No church today, I'm in a state of bettschwere.
Next time someone hits their head while getting in the car, instead of just wincing in sympathy, try using the Swedish word, uffda (OOF-dah). It doesn't really mean anything, it's just an onomatapoetic word for letting that person know that you feel bad for them. Uffda! That table leg is always in the way, I'm sorry you banged your toe!
Okay, how many of us have taken certain mind-expanding drugs? It's okay, I'm not a DEA agent. Have you ever had the feeling that you could taste sound or feel color? Synesthesia (sin-as-THEEZ-ya) is sensation crossover, a sensation felt in one sense or organ when stimulus is applied to another. It is also a literary term, referring to the use of an unrelated sense to describe something: like warm sounds or cool music. I am not unacquainted with the feeling of synesthesia.
A larger feeling, conmoción (con-moe-see-OWN) is a Spanish word for the emotion that a group has in common. There is a great example of this happening in Iran. These people are, mostly, strangers to one another. Yet they share this rare and often frightening emotion. And we watch and understand. Election night at Grant Park in Chicago was a true moment of conmoción.
Then there is the feeling you get when you look at or listen to a work of art. Rasa (RAH-sa) is a Sanskrit word that describes that feeling you get when you understand the essence of that work. Art is hard to define and the deepness of it is even harder to express. When you are taking in that beautiful painting or after the last note of the symphony has faded, how can you tell someone how you feel? Tell them you are experiencing rasa. The Hindus recognize 9 different kinds of rasa: erotic (shringara), comic (hasya), pathetic (karuna), furious (raudra), heroic (vira), fear (bhanyanaka), odious (bribhatsa), marvelous (adbhuta) and tranquil (shanta). Use teh Google for more about this fascinating Sanskrit theory. Debussy's Claire de Lune evokes the shanta rasa in me.
Sometimes an awareness of the universe may overtake you and generate feelings that are so deep and profound that you cannot put them into words. The Japanese call this awareness yugen (YU-ghen). I felt yugen the first time I saw the picture of the deep field view that the Hubble telescope revealed to us. The knowledge that nearly every one of those blurry spots was an entire galaxy just shook my soul and I felt the true size and mystery of the Universe. I had no words, just a gasp and sudden tearing up. Now I have a word for that feeling. I'm not crying, I am experiencing yugen.
Sometimes we may feel sad or melancholy and not really have a reason. Lypophrenia (lie-poh-FREE-nya) is a vague feeling of sadness that doesn't seem to have a cause. Or perhaps it's just a vague feeling of mental discomfort that has you down. That is malnoia (mal-NOY-ah). No, I'm not depressed I just have a case of lypophrenia today. I was suffering from malnoia last night.
Of course, assuming that someone has feelings might be conjecture. I mean, look at Rush or Bill-o and people like them. Sometimes it seems as though they have a severe case of asympathy and can't feel compassion. But perhaps they just suffered from aphilophrenia (a-fy-low-FREE-nya) and felt unloved or unwanted as children. Or maybe they are just indurated (IN-doo-ray-ted): hardened by life into unyielding and unfeeling beings. Then again it may just be that folks like that are vegetal. They just can't feel. I guess we'll never know....
Spirituality is a universal experience but the words we have for the various aspects of it are as distinct and colorful as the different paths of the spirit. These are a few that may be useful or interesting...
Some call it prayer, some call it a spell; the power of focused wills. The Hurons of the Northeastern U.S. have a word to describe this power, orenda (oar-END-uh). Literally, this means "song" but in the proper context it speaks of the kind of spiritual power that we humans are able to generate and/or summon to help us combat fate. Some of us have a direct experience with this. One of my most powerful happened about 10 years ago. An online friend was ill, her kidneys failing. The online community with which she and I were affiliated was an interfaith group and we all began to conjure the orenda in our own way. Our friend came through the crisis, which her doctors has assured her husband was fatal. Since then, I have had a couple similar occurrences. Many feel that Obama's election was the result of orenda.
Polytheistic religions tend to regard the earth as an entity and believe that spirits reside in all of nature. In India, these beings are known as bongas (BON-gas). These are spirits of certain places: of the water, the trees, the rocks, the air and even the house. Sometimes, they will let us know they are there and wish to be acknowledged. Maybe it's a good idea to do that. It certainly can't hurt. I set out a plate of sugar for the bonga in my garden and now my plants are doing great!
If there are bongas, then the land itself must be alive. Theories about magnetic fields and ley lines notwithstanding many believe that the earth itself throbs with energy. But in our modern lives we tend to forget this and the power of the land is forgotten. But we need only to mythologize it again. The Norse had a process by which they did this called land nám (lawnd-NAHM). Meaning "claiming," land nám is a way of sanctifying a place, an area, a region, a country. We do this by making up stories about it. That mountain is the home of a great thunderbird. That lake was dug by a giant. It's time for us to re-claim our places. Yes, even online places. Don't we have our myths and legends here on Daily Kos? Maybe we should perform a land nám on the White House and re-consecrate it to the service of the people.
Most of you have read or heard of James Lovelock's Gaia theory. The idea of the earth as a living organism may be a modern interpretation of the Navajo idea of shimá (SHEE-may). This belief is the Navajo version of the idea that the earth is literally the Mother of all mankind. This is found in many native religions but it is particularly apt that we in America should think about adopting this Native American word. Maybe it would behoove the EPA to consider shimá before granting building permits.
Some religions teach that we reincarnate. Tibetan Buddhism says that, in between lives, we go to the bardo (BAR-doe). This is a place where souls go in the interim and learn what they did wrong in the last life and what they need to do in the next. It is a liminal phase of the soul. Even though it originated as part of the Tibetan philosophy, we can benefit from the ideal of this "in-between" place. There are many liminal phases in our lives: between teen and adult, after a divorce, between jobs, while healing. We can find many uses for this wonderfully descriptive word. I'm in the on-my-way to somewhere bardo when I travel.
Mystics of all religions have their ways of achieving a higher consciousness: meditation, drumming, song, dance. Sometimes, a power is raised by these mystics. Witches know this well, this cone of power, as it is the goal for any magickal working. The Arabs, whose tradition of Sufism is one of the best known mystic tradition, call this power baraka (buh-ROK-uh). It is so much more to the Moslems as it can attach itself to places and can be a trait of people. It can be bestowed and it can be formed and, in some cases, it can grip a nation. Barack has a lot of baraka.
Sometimes we feel parched to our very soul. At such times we may listen to music that we love or watch a film that fills us with emotion. And we feel slaked in our soul. This phenomenon is called by the Thai people, sabsung (SOB-soong). While it literally means to immerse a dry thing in liquid, it refers to the quenching of the emotions and spirit. In our fast-paced lives, we find that we need this to keep sane. So the next time you feel like your spirit is a dried-up sponge, assuage that feeling with favorite music, a wonderful meal, a book you love or a trip to the art museum. I need some serious sabsung, I'm going to plug into my iPod and listen to some Beethoven.
Have you ever just KNOWN something so deeply and directly that it is unquestionable? Like knowing when you are in love. Or having faith. Buddhi (boo-DEE) is a Sanskrit word for that kind of intuitive, direct knowledge. There are times in your life when you know things with a great, internal certainty. When your faith in it is unshakable. That is buddhi. Buddhi tells me that I should go to the thrift shop and, sure enough, there is something there that I need.
Another Sanskrit word and concept is that of the lingam. In religions that have close ties with nature, the fertility principle is held as sacred. The embodiment of this, in the Hindu faith, is a representation of the penis of Shiva. There is nothing "dirty" or pornographic to those that venerate the lingam. It is half of the fertility of the earth, the other half being the yoni, the female symbol of creation. They are often seen together as in the picture at right. Those stones in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were Shiva lingam stones. I saw a beautiful lingam stone at the local Hindu temple.
Is there a lot of tension in your family? Is there a lack of cohesiveness at your office? Maybe you should sit down for a ho'oponopono (HO-OH-poh-no-poh-no). This Hawai'ian custom is like a blend of ritual, group therapy, family counseling, town hall meeting and small claims court. It begins with an invocation to the gods and, if it's a traditional ho'oponopono, the uncovering of the poi bowl. The Hawai'ians hold poi as sacred and will not argue in its presence. Then grievances are aired, disagreements ironed out and agreements reached to the benefit of all. Perhaps Congress needs to hold a ho'oponopono.
Oh, we have so many words to describe people! But you just know I've found some pretty obscure and fascinating ones to share with you. Because I am a philomath (lover of learning - not math!).
We know that people who enjoy food are epicures, gourmands and trenchermen. And people who are good conversationalists are confabulators, discourser or orator. But someone who is a good at both conversation and enjoying meals is a deipnosophist (dip-NOSS-oh-fist). My sister is a gourmand but I'm more of a deipnosophist.
Back in the days of disco (lord save us!), you would see a certain kind of male: the one with tight jeans, open shirt with hairy chest quite visible and adorned with gold chains and perfect hair. The Italians call this species a fusto (FOOS-toe). The fusto engages in preening behavior, struts like a peacock and generally tries to "outmacho" his rivals. He's harmless but annoying. Don't you think Travolta was a bit of a fusto in his younger days?
In our world of innovations that come almost as fast as we can count them, we often find ourselves confronted with the fachidiot (FACH-ee-dee-oat), with the "ch" pronounced as in Yiddish). This is a German word for technologists and scientists who are so narrow-minded that they cannot foresee the consequences of their work. They are so focused on the task at hand, whether it's making Styrofoam or building an unnecessary dam, that they just can't see how terrible the idea is. They are the exact opposite of a holistic thinker, and consider that the ends justify the means. Dick Cheney is a fachidiot.
Let's say you're at a party. You're having a good time chatting up friends and acquaintances when, all of a sudden, the crowd parts and you see a new person approaching. Everyone else seems to avoid them. Too late, you catch the idea but as you try to escape, you are cornered. You have just been trapped by an attaccabottoni (ah-tak-uh-bah-TOE-nee). This Italian words means "buttonholer" and that's what they do. They trap you and tell long and pointless stories of their misfortunes. This is what hell is like, you think as you sip your drink and desperately look for an escape route.
Remember good old Bob Dole? Remember how he would refer to himself in the third person, "Bob Dole doesn't think like that." Bob Dole is an illeist (ILL-ee-ist). He's in good company, though. Other illeists include Julius Caesar, Elmo, Tarzan, Geraldo Rivera, Shaquille O'Neal and Dobby the House Elf all of whom refer to themselves in the third person.
Someone who studies crop circles is a cereologist. Now there's an interesting thing to bring up on a long flight! ;-)
A person of great or wide learning is known as a polyhistor. I can say for a fact that there are several polyhistors here on DK.
The rest of my list (which started out much, much longer) is kind of a grab-bag.
There's a commercial for the new iPhone which illustrates this next word better than I could ever explain it. In the ad, the owner of the new technological wonder is showing his friend all the cool things it can do. As he demonstrates the games and other apps, the friend keeps saying "Oh, I'd never use that" and "I just make phone calls." He is displaying accismus (ak-KIZ-mus), feigning indifference to that phone while he's really desiring it. Most candidates show accismus of the Presidency until they actually declare.
Here on DK, we have a beloved tradition of pootie diaries and WYFP and WFD diaries and the like. We've seen these dissed by folks who just don't understand the talanoa (tal-uh-NOE-uh) they provide. Talanoa is a South Pacific word for idle talk as a social adhesive. "Just talking" i.e. sharing trivial information and discussing everyday things helps build community. And we all know that this is a community. The talanoa for today is a pootie and woozle diary and a WFD diary - enjoy!
Some cultures put great store in dreams. Arab cultures are one of many that have some special words that pertain to their dream-lives. The world of dream, the world where images are real is called the alam al-mithral (ah-LAWM-ahl meeth-RAWL). While in this world the dreamer may be given visions and advice. The Arabs (and others) will often ask for such guidance before they go to sleep. Istiqâra (is-tik-ARE-uh) is the word for this kind of request for assistance. Maybe that guidance comes in the form of a helper or guide. To the Dyak people of Borneo, this helper is known as a ngarong (nn-GAH-rawng). Sometimes we have terrible dreams, the kind we are happy to awaken from. The Indonesians have a word for awakening from a nightmare: kekau (keh-COW). While we have a word for terrible dreams, we don't have one for lovely, blissful dreams. The Bantu can fill that void with bilita mpashti (bee-LEE-tah-mm-POT-she).
Have you ever been rushed and had to make a copy really fast? Notice how the copier seems to know this and picks right then to jam or run out of toner? It's enough to make you a resistentialist. This word was coined by humorist Paul Jennings to describe the "philosophy" that inanimate objects are out to get us. So the next time your wi-fi dies just as you're trying to publish a diary, you have a word for it.
That old saw about a woman craving strange things while pregnant is world-wide. Sometimes its even worse than pickles and ice cream, some women crave dirt and other strange things. The Sanskrit word for these cravings is dohada (doe-HOD-uh). Since this word is older than the English language, its apparent that these cravings are not only universal but ancient. My wife has a dohada for duck feet. Go figure!
Progress is great...right? Well, not always. Sometimes that terrific improvement is anything but. It's a schlimmbesserung (sh-limp-BESS-air-oong). One example might be texting. Oh sure, it's handy if you need to send a brief message but too many people do it while they DRIVE! To my mind, this is why texting is a schlimmbesserung. Everyone will have their own example of this. What do you think is a schlimmbesserung?
We all get it. That damn song that just won't get out of our head. We call it an earworm and rightly so because the original word was the German ohrwurm (OR-vurm) which means "ear worm." And we all have our favorite, or should I say hated, ear worm. For me, it's that damn Free-credit-report-dot-com ad - any of them. OMG, that song is such an ohrwurm!
Did you know that the first cry of a newborn has a word? Well, I guess OB doctors, nurses and midwives know this. Vagitus (VAJ-it-us) is that first sound that a baby makes when it comes into this world. That one has strong lungs - did you catch that vagitus?
We've had a long dry spell here and today we had a nice storm roll through, accompanied by torrential rain. The smell of that rain is petrichor (PET-rik-or). This word has a specific origin: in 1964 two Australian scientists combined the Greek words for rock (petros) and the blood which flowed through the veins of the gods (ichor) to describe this smell. It's said that the scent is the result of chemicals trapped in the dry plants being released. Today, I am enjoying the petrichor.
After I had made the preliminary list for this diary, I had a bad case of mogigraphia (moe-gi-GRAF-ee-uh). To put it more colloquially, I had writer's cramp.
During my research I found this wonderful word for a type of measurement. A milihelen is not a real measurement. It is a unit of measuring beauty and, unless beauty pageants adopt it, is completely facetious. Specifically, it is the amount of beauty needed to launch a ship. Of course, it can be used in the negative - the amount of ugly it takes to sink a ship - but that's just mean. Many people say that Angelina Jolie is beautiful I'd only give her a few hundred milihelens.
Finally, I found a list of phobias that might be fun to look over. I'm an acrophobe myself. Heights make me crazy. Here's a short list of common (and a few uncommon) phobias. Is yours on it?
Achluophobia - Fear of darkness.
Agliophobia - Fear of pain.
Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders.
Astraphobia - Fear of thunder and lightening.
Atychiphobia - Fear of failure.
Autophobia - Fear of being alone.
Barophobia - Fear of gravity.
Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors.
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
Cynophobia - Fear of dogs.
Dentophobia - Fear of dentists.
Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents.
Entomophobia - Fear of insects.
Equinophobia - Fear of horses.
Gamophobia - Fear of marriage.
Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public.
Hemophobia - Fear of blood.
Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles.
Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors.
Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.
Megalophobia - Fear of large things.
Melanophobia - Fear of the color black.
Mysophobia - Fear of dirt and germs.
Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things.
Noctiphobia - Fear of the night.
Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals.
Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight.
Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes.
Ornithophobia - Fear of birds.
Pathophobia - Fear of disease.
Pedophobia - Fear of children.
Phobophobia - Fear of phobias.
Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying.
Pyrophobia - Fear of fire.
Scolionophobia - Fear of school.
Selenophobia - Fear of the moon.
Somniphobia - Fear of sleep.
Tachophobia - Fear of speed.
Technophobia - Fear of technology.
Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder.
Trypanophobia - Fear of injections.
Verminophobia - Fear of germs.
Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft.
Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners.
Zoophobia - Fear of animals.
There were SO many more words I wanted to list here. Maybe I will do a follow-up diary down the road. In the meantime, it's your turn. Do you have a favorite obscure word? Do you have an experience of yoin or buddhi to share? Maybe you have had a run-in with a bonga. What is your schlimmbesserung? Tell us about how you can relate to these new words.
Hopefully, I will be back in two weeks with a new diary on phrases as was voted for last time. Thanks for your patience and support.