Wednesday, October 10

So...Lemme See If I Got This Straight....

Word of the Day: Cacoepy (noun)Pronunciation: [kæk-'o-ê-pee or 'kæk-o-e-pee]

Definition: Incorrect pronunciation.

Usage: Occasionally, we need words we have long since abandoned or that have abandoned us. We may be facing a period in our history now when we need to retrieve "cacoepy" from our lexical attic. "Cacoepy" is not to be confused with cacology "bad choice of words." The antonym of "cacoepy" is orthoepy "the correct pronunciation of words." "Cacoepistic" is the adjective form of today's word and a person who often mispronounces words is a "cacoepist.

Suggested Usage: We think that such a ten-dollar word (the legendary "fifty-cent word" adjusted for inflation) as today's ought to be reserved for those who consistently get it wrong. "The Cacoepist-In-Chief mispronounced word after word, even making up a few, leading one newspaper to ask 'Hain't English his Native Lingo?'"

Etymology: The first part of today's word comes from the Greek kakos "bad." The PIE root is kakka- "to defecate." Words like "poppycock" and "cacophony" have their origins in the same root. The second half, -epy, is from Greek: epos "song, word."

(So......what cacoepy really means is..............Sh*t song)



P.S. This came from http://www.yourdictionary.com/
and you can get a daily subscription!

5 comments:

Travelin'Oma said...

I love words. Thanks for this link!

Anonymous said...

ROFLMAO @ "suggested usage"!

MaR said...

LOL, loved it!

Shephard said...

Oh, that was very interesting!
My English teacher.... he called them $5 words. :)
~S

Anonymous said...

hilarious! Another new word for me ;)