Nullify the Winter Chill

To praise the season of Spring–which is yet to come but steadily showing itself in little bits here on the mountainous land of northern California–let’s begin this odd etymological edition with THE PHRASE OF THE YEAR!

"Solvitur Ambulando"

it’s a Latin phrase that literally means, “it is solved by walking,” and with the weather shiftings it’s annual gears, it feels like the best moment to get outside and saunter around.
(i stumbled upon this during the Christmas gathering with family and friends in a book about the healing power of nature and therapies based in the wilderness, thank you Harp & Roger!)

And from the far fetched realms of my dictionary, we have the winer for WORD OF THE MONTH!

Nullifidian - a person with no faith of belief.

Almost as John Lennon described it in his song “God,"

"i don’t believe in Jesus . . . or Buddha . . .
. . . nor America. . . or, money . . .
. . . i just believe in me (and Yoko).”

 

Thus we leave the introductory phase with the summation being that which matters is walking in nature and filling your life with love.
   
    •  •  •

Now for the main attraction here is a delightful collection of obscure real words and a few new literary inventions.

Armitage - a hermit.

Mythographer - a mapper of mythology.

Tetra-Pharmakos – it was originally a compound of four drugs (wax, tallow, pitch and resin); the word has been used metaphorically by Roman-era Epicureans to refer to the four remedies for healing the soul. Basically the first of Epicurus’ forty maxims for happiness. I highly recommend watching this documentary if you’ve not refreshed yourself on ancient Greek philosophers recently:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irornIAQzQY

    (. . . it is thoroughly profound.)

Crepuscular - twilight.

  Xenophelia - an attraction to foreign things of people.

    Mystigogue - a pursuer of the mysteries.

    Hysteron Proteron - an inversion of natural order.

   
    Saccades - they are unconscious, jerk-like eye movements that occur a few times a second. In between saccades, your eyes fixate and the brain processes the visual information it has received. All of this happens unconsciously, without any effort on your part. In human infants, those fixation periods are shorter than in adults, thus we have a way of explaining why time seems to speed up as we grow older (the lapses in “moments” as the eyes registers them is greater, which shortens the perception/feeling of time flow)

Hado - the vibration of all things, as described by Dr. Emoto in reference to the power of water.
   

  (cymatics!)

 

Autophagy – natural, regulated mechanism of the cell that disassembles unnecessary or dysfunctional components. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components.

Maieutic - the Socratic method of clearing consciousness for better use.

     

Sambo: is what you call your partner when you live together but don’t marry . . . in Sweden.

Sarbo: is what you call your beloved when you live apart. . . . in Sweden.
 

Interoception – the sense of the internal state of the body.

A fascinating interview mentions this around the 45-minute mark: https://alignpodcast.libsyn.com/jill-miller-vagus-nerve-empathy-neurons-hrv-ep-207

     Eudaimonia - Greek word, which refers to a state of having a good indwelling spirit or being in a contented state of being healthy, happy and prosperous. Or, in the modern scientific sense: “the happiness telomere.”

    Suprachiasmatic Nucleus - your internal body clock that is atomically precise.

    Xeno-Biotics – any food you eat!

    Uvula – that dangly bit of balloon shaped flesh that hangs down in the back-top of you mouth.

* * * GULLIVER’S INVENTED WORDS * * *
    

Hippocrite: a fat person who judges other fat people for being fat.

Intrinite: the infinite potential of your intuitive inner-inter-net.

Cosmedy: A cosmic comedy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFg6Y7zbRg4
    

Mamma-gatto: a big cloud that mothers love, like a cuddly cat in the sky.

   

Fractoleen: a small fractal, like a spiraling smithereen!
     

Epicurious: here i posit that part of happiness in life is derived from one’s perpetual curiosity and ability to learn, therefore: Epicurus & curious make up this word.

Metaflation: when in deep meditation, your awareness becomes inflated like a altruistic ego.

Ouroborophenia: a fanatical fixation on the cyclical abysmal return.

Mantra-Festation: a mantra that manifests into reality.

Otakumi: a blend of the artisan and the anime-obssessed!
    (derived from: takumi & otaku)

Avid-Tard: one who consistently fucks things up and is clueless as to it all.
       
Mysticist: a scientific mystic.

Infinancy: to be a child, forever.

Möntique: a modern antique.
   

Nil-Todo: the total sum of nothing.

•  •  •

The last item of interest for this installation of Odd Etymologies, is an INVENTED TERM: 

    "Cosmogonic Equipoise"

    (meaning: universal equanimity)

    Dig it!


Ciao for now, space cowboys,
Gulliver

Pumpkins & Poems!!!

Happy Heebie-Jeebie Holidays! 

I intended to post a history of Halloween this month for all you avid neophytes of knowledge, but instead i will offer a link that does an excellent job to the delightful dark history of October 31st (in the luminous sense) – and a few odd words to finish this post.

First, a superb summation from the website Ancient-Origins.net – 

Halloween, or the ancient Samhain, is considered the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. As darkness falls and families light their pumpkin Jack-o'-lanterns, they are, perhaps unknowingly, repeating the ancient traditions of honoring the dead and marking the beginning of the ‘dark half’ of the year. . . Many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain. It was the time when cattle were brought back down from the summer pastures and when livestock were slaughtered for the winter. As at Beltane, special bonfires were lit. These were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Samhain (like Beltane) was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies could more easily come into our world.” Fires, and later candles, were lit to mimic the sun and hold back the dark of the oncoming winter.

http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/crossing-veil-pre-christian-origins-halloween-and-samhain-002271?nopaging=1

Now, a bit of October etymology. . . 

PUMPKIN (n.)

From Greek pepon "melon," probably originally "cooked (by the sun)," hence "ripe;" from peptein "to cook”!

America's a dandy place: 

The people are all brothers: 

And when one's got a punkin pye, 

He shares it with the others. 

[from "A Song for the Fourth of July, 1806," in "The Port Folio," Philadelphia, Aug. 30, 1806] 

Halloween (n.) (Also Hallow-e'en, Hallow e'en) 1781

In a Scottish context, the word and the magical lore about the date were popularized by Burns' poem (1785, and he attached a footnote explaining it), but it probably dates to 17c. in Scotland and is attested as the name of a tune in 1724. The tune is mentioned again in an English-Scots songbook ("The Chearful Companion") in 1783, and Burns was not the first to describe the customs in print.

Hallow-E'en, or Holy Eve, is the evening previous to the celebration of All Saints. That it is propitious to the rites of divination, is an opinion still common in many parts of Scotland. [John Main, footnote to his poem "Hallow-E'en," Glasgow, 1783] 

It is a Scottish shortening of Allhallow-even "Eve of All Saints, last night of October" (1550s), the last night of the year in the old Celtic calendar, where it was Old Year's Night, a night for witches. A pagan holiday given a cursory baptism.

(https://www.etymonline.com/)

Heebie Jeebies...

The mysterious term is sometimes attributed to Billy DeBeck, citing a 1923 cartoon of his in the October 26 edition of the New York American:

        You dumb ox – why don't you get that stupid look offa your pan – you gimme the heebie jeebies!

It appears to share a similarity to earlier rhyming phrases, such as hocus-pocus and mumbo-jumbo and the bee's knees.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heebie-jeebies_(idiom))

Stay spookey my friends.....

Gullosopher

Books & Borage

Newly Invented Words

(by Sir Gulliver Perriwinkle)

Stupitomy - the epitome of stupidity.

Rumi-nate - to read a Rumi poem, then ponder it deeply.

Egoric - a small, Egor-like. . . ego. 

Exert-Cise - to over-do an exercise.

Anallogic - analog & logic = Old-school Wisdom

NOW! ONTO THE WIERD AND WORDY ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORLD!!!

Book - from beech tree, of which paper for Runes were used for writing.

Companion – to share bread with someone thus the "pan" section of the word.

Pharmacology - the study of poison.

Azimuth - from old French AZIMUT  derived from “the way” in Arabic.

Tennis - most likely from Anglo-French tenetz "hold! receive! take!," mid-14century, which was used as a call from the server to his opponent.

  

Punk - "Chinese incense," 1877, later shifting in meaning from "harlot" to "homosexual," to “worthless” and as many know it today . . . a urban delinquent PUNK!!!

Gadzooks - hooks nails that fastened Jesus to cross.

Teetotaler - one who is “pledged to total abstinence from intoxicating drink," 1834.

Gobsmacked - a combination of “gob,” very old English slang for the mouth or face, with “smack,” meaning “to strike with a slap or a blow.” 

Borage - “the father of sweat!”

Salep – is a thickener and main ingredient in Turkish ice-cream. Salep is derived from an Arabic word for a species of orchids which literally translates into ‘fox testicles’.

Gadoid - a bony fish of an order ( Gadiformes ) that comprises of cods, hakes, and relatives.

Tramonte - an Italian term for when the sun sets in the mountains as a breeze flows through.

Salacious - fond of leaping.

Edonia - the inability to experience pleasure:

NOW, TO FINISH THIS POST, HERE'S TWO MORE FUN WORDS.

Hygge – pronounced "hoo-ga," this Danish concept cannot be translated to one single word but encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life. If you've ever enjoyed reading a book indoors on a rainy Sunday or a cup of hot cocoa on a snow day you've experienced hygge without even knowing it. Hygge is such an important part of being Danish that it is considered "a defining feature of our cultural identity and an integral part of the national DNA," according to Meik Wiking, the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen. "In other words, what freedom is to Americans. . . hygge is to Danes."

http://www.countryliving.com/life/a41187/what-is-hygge-things-to-know-about-the-danish-lifestyle-trend/

Flabbergast – first appeared in the late 18th century and was most likely concocted as a combination of “flabby” or “flap” and “aghast” (which itself harks back to the Old English “gaest,” ghost). The original sense thus may have been of someone’s flab flapping or shaking with fear upon seeing an apparition. 

http://www.word-detective.com/2010/11/flummoxed-flabbergasted-and-gobsmacked/

Tally-ho & Jollio Folks!

Have a great October and check back soon, for the origins of Halloween will be revealed next month, here.

SaveSave

Happy Februa-ry!!!

Greetings and happy FEBRUARY. From the Latin root februa we get  the "month of purification.” So cleanse, fast, abstain you way to a better 2017 and healthier life – just don’t go “purging” anybody.

Now onto the update of new, fun, and odd etymologies!

Cafuné (Portuguese) – to pass or run your fingers slowly through somebody’s hair. 

Cocoon – a large flat bean from Africa

(something is not right here . . . )

Oology – the study of bird eggs

(The man know's his stuff, really, ask him a question. Anything!)

Quadroon – 1/4th African blood

Shinrin yoku – a Japanese verb meaning, “forest bathing”. 

(i will let you discover the real meaning behind this fun word from 1986 is. . . .)

Quaff –  “drink copiously”

(. . . an activity only for mad-men)

Tycoon – a great prince

(This online searhc-result is not what i had in mind)

Oneiromancy –  using dreams to foretell the future

("i see dead people. . . . eventually")

Orchid - from the Greek word for “testicles”

(no pictures, please)

Oogonium - the female reproductive organ in algae or fungi

Peripatetic - a walking school, as taught by a meandering Aristotle in 335BCE

(Can you identify the two center peripatetic fella's here?)

Psycho-naut -  a “soul sailor”

      

(A man drawn by the late, great, and uncanny Moebius; a gal' painted by the questionable Robby Donaghey)

Bona-roba - “a fine wench!” but generally used to mean “good-stuff” in  Italian.

CALOYER - a Greek monk from kalós (beautiful) & geras (old age)

Quixotic - caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality.

Befuddle - to confuse with strong drink or opium

Epiphyte  - parasitic vegetable 

   

         

Genius - from geni or “spirit guardian”

Bidet - a small horse, or pony.

    Pronoia - believe that there is a conspiracy to benefit the world - on your behalf

Now to end this section with two new invented words, from you’re truly, here you go: 

1) if you ever reflect on childhood memories then sigh while smiling at the same time, it may be that you’ve experienced “MELLON-JOLLY”

2) when olfactory (smell) excites incredible memories and flashback to deep emotional events in you’re history, it’s “NOSE-STALGIA.”

That's it folks,

Ciao for now!

[Here's a few pictures that didn't make the cut...."WHY?" you ask. Well, they're simply too weird.]