Word of the Day
muffuletta
noun
a thick, round sandwich, typically containing ham, salami, and cheeses and topped with an olive salad, a specialty of New Orleans.
More about muffuletta
Muffuletta “a thick, round deli sandwich from New Orleans” comes from the Sicilian dialect of Italian, perhaps from standard Italian muffola “mitten.” Muffola, in turn, likely comes by way of French moufle from Medieval Latin muffula “thick glove,” which appears to also be the source of camouflage. One possible source of muffula is a compound of two Germanic roots—one meaning “sleeve, something folded” (compare English moue or mow “a pouting grimace”) and the other meaning “skin” (compare English fell “the skin of an animal). Muffuletta was first recorded in English in the late 1960s, though the sandwich itself appears to date to the early 20th century.
how is muffuletta used?
One could fill an encyclopedia with the culinary delights on offer in this famously delicious city, but no visit to New Orleans is complete without partaking of a few classics: the city’s two most famous sandwiches, the muffuletta and the po’boy…
We’ve tried a ton of amazing sandwiches over the years, but the muffuletta reigns supreme—it is just impossibly good. You can find them all over Louisiana and increasingly in other parts of the country, though it’s still a regional standard.
xocolatophobia
noun
an irrational or disproportionate fear of chocolate.
More about xocolatophobia
Xocolatophobia “fear of chocolate” is a compound of Nahuatl chocolātl “a drink made from ground, roasted cocoa beans” and the combining form -phobia. The tradition for naming phobias is to use the Ancient Greek translation of the feared word, but because chocolate does not translate into Ancient Greek, the Nahuatl source is used instead. Chocolate comes via Spanish from chocolātl, with the final -tl in Nahuatl replaced with Spanish -te for easier pronunciation; compare Spanish coyote “coyote” and tomate “tomato,” from Nahuatl coyōtl and tomatl. The spelling of xocolatophobia with x instead of ch likely stems from the popular—if unproven—hypothesis that chocolātl comes from Nahuatl xococ “bitter” and ātl “water.” Xocolatophobia was first recorded in English in the late 2000s.
how is xocolatophobia used?
In 2015, the Express shared the story of Andrew Bullock, a man in Berkshire, England, who was living with xocolatophobia. Bullock noted that, while he had no particularly traumatizing experience with chocolate, he thought he inherited his fear from his mother, who ‘had it too.’
Phobias are generally without rationale and form part of human psychology. A number of scientific studies are being conducted to analyze and cure different kinds of phobias. From the countless that exist… : (1) myrmecophobia—fear of ants; (2) amaxophobia—fear of cars/car journeys; (3) xocolatophobia—fear of chocolates…
selenography
noun
the branch of astronomy that deals with the charting of the moon's surface.
More about selenography
Selenography “the branch of astronomy that charts the moon’s surface” is a compound of seleno- and -graphy. The former comes from Ancient Greek selḗnē “moon,” while the latter ultimately comes from Ancient Greek graphḗ “writing.” The noun selḗnē is also the source of Selene, the moon goddess, and comes from sélas “shine,” plus the noun-forming suffix -nē, making selḗnē literally mean “shinier, lighter.” A similar formation appears in Latin with lūna “moon,” contracted from the root luc- “light” and the suffix -na. Take care not to confuse Selene with the name Celine, from either Latin Caelina (from caelum “heaven”) or French Marceline (from Latin Marcus). Selenography was first recorded in English in the 1640s.
how is selenography used?
In the history of Selenography, John Henry Maedler holds a distinguished place. He was the very first to publish a large map of the lunar surface; and his map was a good one, very accurate, and beautifully executed.
The selenography of one side of the moon is much better known to us than the geography of the earth. Our maps of the moon are far more perfect than those of the earth…