Word of the Day

Phlogiston “a chemical once thought to be released during combustion” is the neuter form of Ancient Greek phlogistós “inflammable, burnt up,” from the verb phlogízein “to set on fire.” Relatives of phlogízein in English include phlegm (from phlégma “flame”) and phlox (from phlóx “a flame-colored plant”). All these words ultimately come from a Proto-Indo-European root roughly meaning “to burn, flash, shine” that appears today in English words containing bl-, fl-, ful-, or phl-, depending on the language of origin. For more descendants in English from this rather productive root, check out our recent Words of the Day effulgent, Phlegethon, and trailblaze. Phlogiston was first recorded in English circa 1730.

Folklorico “containing Mexican folk dancing” is a borrowing of Spanish folklórico (note the acute accent) “folkloristic,” based on English folklore and the Spanish adjective-forming suffix -ico. Despite the similar pronunciations, English folk is not related to Latin vulgus “the general public” (as in English vulgar); instead, it may be distantly related to hoi polloi “the common people” (from Ancient Greek) and the recent Word of the Day plebeian (from Latin plēbēs “the common people”). Lore, meanwhile, is closely related to English learn, and both come from a Germanic root meaning “to teach.” Folklorico was first recorded in English in the early 1940s.

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.

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.

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.