Word of the Day

Haphephobia “an extreme fear or dislike of touching or being touched” is a compound of the Ancient Greek noun haphḗ “a touch” and the combining form -phobia “fear,” from Ancient Greek phóbos. Haphḗ is a derivative of the verb háptein “to grasp, sense,” which is also the source of the adjective haptic “of or relating to touch.” Ancient Greek has two letters similar to English P: pi, which represents the “p” sound in spin, and phi, which represents the aspirated “p” sound in pin. Because pi and phi are pronounced similarly, many Greek verbs containing a “p” sound regularly alternate between pi and phi across tenses and forms, which is how the verb háptein, spelled with a pi, leads to the noun form haphḗ, spelled with a phi. Haphephobia was first recorded in English in the early 1890s.

Perilune “the point in a lunar orbit that is nearest to the moon” is a compound of the combining form peri- “about, around, near” and the element -lune “moon.” Peri-, from Ancient Greek perí “about, around,” is a common fixture in words related to closeness, such as perimeter and periphery, and in perilune, it is combined with -lune on the pattern of perigee “the point in an orbit that is nearest to the earth” (using Ancient Greek gaîa or gê “earth”). Unlike perigee, perilune features a Latin-origin element, -lune (from Latin lūna) to mean “moon”; if this element were derived instead from Ancient Greek selḗnē “moon” to better match perigee, we would be saying something like “periselene” instead! Perilune was first recorded in English in the late 1950s.

Autosomal “occurring on a chromosome other than one of the sex chromosomes” is the adjectival form of autosome “a chromosome other than a sex chromosome,” a compound of the combining forms auto- “self, same” and -some “body.” Auto- comes from Ancient Greek autós “self,” of uncertain ultimate origin, while -some comes from Ancient Greek sôma “body,” the stem of which is sōmat-, as in somatic. While sôma refers to a body generally, nekrós (as in necropolis and necrotic) refers specifically to a dead body. Autosomal was first recorded in English in the early 20th century.

Revitalize “to give new vitality or vigor to” is a compound of the prefix re- “again, back” and the verb vitalize “to give life to.” Vitalize, in turn, is formed from vital “of or relating to life” and the verbal suffix -ize. Vital, from Latin vītālis, comes from the Latin noun vīta “life,” which is derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root, gwei- “to live,” that is also the source of English quick (from Old English cwic “living”), Latin vīvere “to live” (as in vivacious and vivid), Ancient Greek bíos “life” (as in amphibian and biotic), and Ancient Greek zôion “animal” (as in protozoa and zodiac). Revitalize was first recorded in English in the late 1850s.

Golem “a figure constructed in the form of a human and endowed with life” is a borrowing by way of Yiddish goylem from Hebrew gōlem “embryo, larva, cocoon.” This Hebrew noun is a derivative of the verb l’galēm “to embody,” from the Semitic root glm “to cut, separate.” In Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanlike being created from raw material such as clay and brought to life to perform a specific duty or task. Golem was first recorded in English in the late 1890s.