The Logodaedalus Function (I've got the word you're looking for!)

[Vermanubis]

Link to original post: [drupal=4894]The Logodaedalus Function[/drupal]



Input a question in me, and I'll output a word for it. In other words, is there something you've experienced before, but never had a word for it, or something that you just don't know what it's called? Gimme a try and see if I don't know what it's called. There are few things so idyllically pleasing than being able to express even just a simple concept with a solid, concrete word; the catharsis of directness!

If I don't believe that there's a word for a specific thing, I'll construct one using valid root forms with prefixes/affixes/suffixes/etc. I do wanna ask though, to keep things reasonable. Though some pretty eidetic words are out there, like omphaloskepsis (to contemplate one's own navel), it's a rarity to find words that satisfy extremely long and specific scenarios, such as a word for, say "When a man looks at a woman but knows she doesn't want him because of the way her *** jiggles." While I could come up with some pretty creative holophrastics like "Steatotaximancy," which could be taken to mean divination by *** fat movement (steato - ***-fat, taxis - movement and -mancy - divination), it just gets silly lol.

Example: What's it called when something refers to itself? When a word looks like the thing it's referring to, such as the word "bed" looking like a bed? That's called an autology. The place on your back that you can't reach to scratch? Acnestis.

I promise to use words I already know, otherwise the exercise is useless lol. My love of language/words runs deep, so my verbal alacrity is important to me and these kinds of exercises are good. Just something to help me and to keep those who participate (hopefully) entertained.

 

[Teran]

I would play this because it's a really cool idea, but every question I can think of the word then just pops into my head.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

What is to feel sorrow?

 

[Vermanubis]

I would play this because it's a really cool idea, but every question I can think of the word then just pops into my head.

D'aw lol. Well if you think of one, definitely pop it in!

What is to feel sorrow?

Subjective experience, in other words? Qualia would be the word for that. I dunno if you mean synonyms for sorrow, or the actual experiential nature of tragedy/sadness though lol. If the latter, qualia satisfies it decently enough. It basically covers the concept of what "experience" is; the "greenness" of a leaf, the particular taste of an apple.

 

[Life]

The feeling you get that makes you say "What." With a period, not a question mark.

 

[Vermanubis]

The feeling you get that makes you say "What." With a period, not a question mark.

That could be a lot of things lol. I don't think there's a special word for that other than "disgust" or "disenchantment."

 

[TL?]

What's the word for someone who is skilled in the manipulative use of words.

 

[Browny]

That feeling when you dont want to be a part of this world (as in modern human culture)

 

[Vermanubis]

What's the word for someone who is skilled in the manipulative use of words.

Sophist, prevaricator and equivocator are all good ones for that.

That feeling when you dont want to be a part of this world (as in modern human culture)

Not sure if there's a specialized word for that, but estrangement and dissociation fit the criteria pretty well.

 

[Browny]

Lol nice. I think estrangement is better, since its pretty much only applicable to human behaviour while dissociation is a natural reaction of molecules.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Something that makes you facepalm

 

[Jim Morrison]

When something bad happens, but also something good comes out of it, what's it called?

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

When something bad happens, but also something good comes out of it, what's it called?

Accidental Awesome.


Mhm.

Synonyms for:
Functional
A pacifist
Poison
Disappointment

 

[Vermanubis]

Something that makes you facepalm

Ugsome.

When something bad happens, but also something good comes out of it, what's it called?

Serendipity fits that well enough. It means that something fortuitous happened by sheer chance, usually as a reversal of fortune.

Accidental Awesome.


Mhm.

Synonyms for:
Functional
A pacifist
Poison
Disappointment

Functional: Pragmatic
Pacifist: Diffident, xanthic (kind of a loose synonym, but it means "yellow")
Poison: Miasma, effluvium
Disappointment: Disenfranchisement, disenchantment, disillusionment

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

The word I am looking for is a verb. It describes how the west has taken its culture and ideals and shoved it upon the peoples of the world.

 

[Vermanubis]

The word I am looking for is a verb. It describes how the west has taken its culture and ideals and shoved it upon the peoples of the world.

Evangelize would fit that nicely. A looser fit would be coercion.

 

[Jim Morrison]

Wouldn't westernize/westernise be a better fit? It's much more commonly used and is literally the word.

 

[Vermanubis]

Wouldn't westernize/westernise be a better fit? It's much more commonly used and is literally the word.

Westernize is more for the process of assimilating into Western culture, not actually having it preached or forced. Don't worry, I think these things through before I post them.

 

[Indigo Jeans]

Ha ha, I like this! I myself am quite the language aficionado, more so in the sense that I'm into the origin and development of language, but this is definitely nice. I'll get to thinking of something for this.

 

[Theftz22]

A word for someone who pushes away someone who wishes to be taught, unwilling to teach them.

 

[Vermanubis]

A word for someone who pushes away someone who wishes to be taught, unwilling to teach them.

The only word that comes to mind for that is an elitist. You could get away with meritocrat, too, but it doesn't satisfy the criteria entirely.

Then again, depending on the context of the scenario, there could be a lot of different words. It's not a <real> word per se, since it has no acknowledged negation, but antididact could be a word to get the message across.

I think I'll change the rules to state that if I don't believe there's a recognized word for a given thing, I'm allowed to construct my own with valid roots and affixes/prefixes/etc.

 

[Jim Morrison]

One word for failing at a contest of some sort, despite being good at it normally.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Someone whom wastes time
Someone whom efficiently uses time

 

[Indigo Jeans]

Someone who uses "whom" correctly

http://web.ku.edu/~edit/whom.html

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Dem dutchland johns broseph

 

[Vermanubis]

One word for failing at a contest of some sort, despite being good at it normally.

That'd be an aberration. It means for something completely anomalous to happen, or a freak accident.

Someone whom wastes time
Someone whom efficiently uses time

Profligate for the first one, in the context of a slothful, self-indulgent waster of time.
Executive for the second.

Someone who uses "whom" correctly

Grammarian or orthologian for the affirmative.
Malapropist for the negative.

 

[PersonallyIPreferDair]

A word for when you use a another word to make something sound better.

Example:
Instead of using a word like zealous, someone would use dedicated.

 

[Vermanubis]

A word for when you use a another word to make something sound better.

Example:
Instead of using a word like zealous, someone would use dedicated.

Euphemization or epanorthosis.

Euphemizing is stating something to make it more digestible or "sugar coat," and epanorthosis is the immediate amendment of word choice.

 

[Zatchiel]

The word for: Deliberately using a word in an abstruse connotation to conjure inquiry or perplexity.

This is a cool idea, Verm. I could use an activity like this myself.

 

[Vermanubis]

The word for: Deliberately using a word in an abstruse connotation to conjure inquiry or perplexity.

This is a cool idea, Verm. I could use an activity like this myself.

Thanks, Al. :D

Anyway, in an abstruse connotation? You can't really connote a word, per se, since connotation is the perceived secondary meaning of a word, so one doesn't really have control over it.

Do you mean more like, using an abstruse word to confuse people or to posture? If so, then there's a ton of cool words.

Aenos would be one. Aenos means speaking highly to appeal to the learned or educated.

Sophisticate can mean to intentionally use obscure words to confuse a person and intellectually posture to seem more intelligent than they really are.

Obfuscate is another one. It means to be unclear and confusing.

There are a ton more, but one last word that doesn't entirely encompass the criteria, it's still really cool and does pertain to it. Autoclesis, which is when someone elicits inquiry by bringing up a topic in passing and then refusing to talk about it or elaborate.

 

[Zatchiel]

I thought connotation was the use of a word beyond its primary meaning, but the more you know, nonetheless. I love learning.

What about... a word for people who stay for a short notice, then leave abruptly, on a basis? I was thinking evenescent, but something about that doesn't seem to fit entirely (I'd rather take your word for it).

 

[Vermanubis]

I thought connotation was the use of a word beyond its primary meaning, but the more you know, nonetheless. I love learning.

What about... a word for people who stay for a short notice, then leave abruptly, on a basis? I was thinking evenescent, but something about that doesn't seem to fit entirely (I'd rather take your word for it).

Connotation is the implied meaning of something, rather than denotation, which is the explicit meaning. For example, if I said "his performance was outstanding," "outstanding" <denotes> something out of the ordinary, but it connotes something as being extraordinarily good, though the word's meaning isn't specific.

As for the question, you mean, someone who's generally nomadic? Vagrant, vagabond or transient work well for the description.

 

[PersonallyIPreferDair]

Euphemization or epanorthosis.

Euphemizing is stating something to make it more digestible or "sugar coat," and epanorthosis is the immediate amendment of word choice.

Why thank you I've always discouraged myself from using sugar-coat...yet I did not know what to use in turn.

Do you mind if I ask you what brought about your interest in expanding your lexicon, and how you went about doing so?
I prefer not to be vernacular, so your collection of words interests me quite a bit :O

 

[Vermanubis]

Why thank you I've always discouraged myself from using sugar-coat...yet I did not know what to use in turn.

Do you mind if I ask you what brought about your interest in expanding your lexicon, and how you went about doing so?
I prefer not to be vernacular, so your collection of words interests me quite a bit :O

You bet! I know the feeling of not wanting to use a certain expression myself, which kinda ties into your question about how my "logolepsy" developed.

It developed for two primary reasons. One is pretty straightforward, and the other pretty in-depth.

The first reason is because I dislike things that I feel are contrived or disingenuous. I feel like certain words or terms become so common that they lose their efficacy and meaning, so the expression feels disingenuous. I feel much more relieved and satisfied when I feel I've expressed an idea with specificity. I feel like whatever ideas I have are more fruitfully realized when expressed with specific references rather than dancing around an ambiguous concept whose meaning could be diluted by the sheer volume of words required to express the idea.

For example, as I just gave Al a word for, the word "autoclesis," it's much more cathartic to say to someone to stop being autocletic than to tell them to "stop doing the thing where they bring a topic up and not talk about it." It's simply a liberating feeling, much like after a good stretch or workout.

The second reason deals with semiotics (the theory/study of meaning) and I'll try to be as brief on this one as I can lol.

A lot of the time, general use diction can be learned through context, thereby stripping it of its full meaning. Like in the example I just gave all regarding connotation vs. denotation, many people will know what certain words connote, but not denote, as in, they will have an idea of what the word implies, but not what its actual, semantic (see: exact) meaning is. That can create a lot of confusion in discussing topics with people, because conflicting connotations of words can mean the two people will continually conjure different ideas of the topic at hand and the discussion or intended message will eventually suffer because of it. So, naturally, I love words that are succinct and compact, but encompass complex ideas (the word for such a thing is called a holophrastic, which I mentioned in the OP ). This extends into various other areas of interest for me, but that's the basic idea behind my love of words and language in general.

A good way to describe the above notion would be:

Essentially, by having a concrete referent (word) to indicate the idea, you connect the word and the idea invariably and directly. If you jive around with imprecise words and a long string of relative pronouns, the meaning could go in a million directions depending on the listener. I can't imagine anyone likes when they try to explain something specific, just to sound like they suffer a functional disorder of the mind and end up capitulating and just saying "You get the picture" or "You know what I'm talking about."

 

[Zatchiel]

Connotation is the implied meaning of something, rather than denotation, which is the explicit meaning. For example, if I said "his performance was outstanding," "outstanding" <denotes> something out of the ordinary, but it connotes something as being extraordinarily good, though the word's meaning isn't specific.

As for the question, you mean, someone who's generally nomadic? Vagrant, vagabond or transient work well for the description.

Thank you so much, mate.

What is the opposite of euphemism?

A word for a foolhardy act.

The state of being inconsolable or despondent.

To esteem or give accolades.

A word for an extemporaneous acheivement or success.

Someone who expresses fivolity or lack of sense for a petty event among a community; the act of 'crying wolf.'

A word for someone who expostulates unreasonably often, impetuously.

A word for someone who has been consigned. This has me stumped.

A fatuous action that recieves an unreal consequence (a mistake that recieves a much greater punishment than what was originally expected to follow with the possibility of failure).

What is a cause of faction? Nothing in particular, but just, generally? Incongruity, disharmony, and incompatibility come to mind, but I'm uncertain.

Sorry if this is too much.

 

[Smooth Criminal]

As for the question, you mean, someone who's generally nomadic? Vagrant, vagabond or transient work well for the description.

"Gangrel" works, too.

:3

Edit: I need to think of some words or phrases for you, Verm. Gimme a day or two.

This is a really cool thread.

Smooth Criminal

 

[PersonallyIPreferDair]

Ah, I see. :O
Well, we seem to have a similar virtue. Although, my vocabulary is nowhere near as vast as yours lol

I just wish there were more people in my area that I could relate to with this.

 

[Vermanubis]

Thank you so much, mate.

No need to thank! Just doing what I love.

What is the opposite of euphemism?

Dysphemism

A word for a foolhardy act.

Antic, zugzwang (foolish act done out of lack of alternatives), farce, bravado

The state of being inconsolable or despondent.

Anhedonic, dysphoric, catatonic

To esteem or give accolades.

Adulate, extol, aggrandize, exalt, laude and exult. Autolatry is giving praise to oneself.

A word for an extemporaneous acheivement or success.

Not quite sure what you mean. Extemporaneous success would mean sudden or improvised success. Do you mean unexpected achievement, as in, doing something you didn't know you did?

Someone who expresses fivolity or lack of sense for a petty event among a community; the act of 'crying wolf.'

That'd be a milquetoast.

A word for someone who expostulates unreasonably often, impetuously.

Contrarian, curmudgeon, malcontent, custos morum (in the context of moral expostulation)

A word for someone who has been consigned. This has me stumped.

Confidant. It's not a 100% fit, but consignee is the only other relatively specific word that I know of.

A fatuous action that recieves an unreal consequence (a mistake that recieves a much greater punishment than what was originally expected to follow with the possibility of failure).

This is a bit confusing. A fatuous action would be something stupid, but I'm not sure what you mean by "unreal" consequence.

What is a cause of faction? Nothing in particular, but just, generally? Incongruity, disharmony, and incompatibility come to mind, but I'm uncertain.

What do you mean? What causes a faction to occur? Eidos. Eidos is the fundamental belief set of a given group.

Sorry if this is too much.

Answers in bold.

@SC: Thanks as always, man. Glad you like the idea.

@DAir: Yeah, I'm right there with you, dude. It's hard to find folks who can appreciate lexical muscle flexing. Words are a delicate practice though. It's all about taste and appropriations. Not even the most devout of logophiles want an overabundance. Just like with music, nobody wants to hear nothing but arpeggios for the duration of a piece, lest what was once consonant and beautiful become tedious and fractious. Words have times and places, just like notes in a song.

Nothing is perfectly synonymous. Synonyms are, in essence, 90% synonym, 10% identity. In other words, each word may share a similar idea/meaning, but that which it designated is always somewhat different. That being said, context is pivotal in determining the right words to use, and if the concept being demonstrated requires a dominant, focal word or would suffice with a more passive one.

 

[Jim Morrison]

For example, as I just gave Al a word for, the word "autoclesis," it's much more cathartic to say to someone to stop being autocletic than to tell them to "stop doing the thing where they bring a topic up and not talk about it." It's simply a liberating feeling, much like after a good stretch or workout.

But, don't you get asked all the time "what does that mean?"

Doesn't it get annoying to use words most people don't know.

 

[Vermanubis]

But, don't you get asked all the time "what does that mean?"

Doesn't it get annoying to use words most people don't know.

I do, but I think it's really fun to explain and teach. Teaching is an excellent way to learn or concretize what one's already learned. Unlike some things that people try to teach, language (words specifically) are of interest to everyone because it's an inexorable part of their lives. I don't think I've ever met a person who truly didn't enjoy learning a new word for a concept they'd been struggling to articulate. Not to mention, words are nothing but information and conceptual indicators, so expanding one's vocabulary and understanding of words could very well entail an easier understanding of other concepts and increase mental alacrity in general. The process of proper word usage is far more mentally expensive and utilizes more facilities than most realize, so this all stands to reason.