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More about hyperbolic

The adjective聽hyerbolic has two distinct senses, both of them from the same Greek word 丑测辫别谤产辞濒岣� 鈥渟uperiority, excess (in geometry), extravagance (in rhetoric),鈥� literally 鈥渁 throwing beyond.鈥� In rhetoric 丑测辫别谤产辞濒岣� means 鈥渁n overstrained word or expression, a strong statement,鈥� as in “I could eat a horse!” The geometric sense of 丑测辫别谤产辞濒岣� (via New Latin hyperbola) is the curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone when the plane makes a greater angle (that is, the plane makes a 丑测辫别谤产辞濒岣�) with the base than does the generator of the cone. Hyperbolic in the rhetorical sense entered English about 1646; the geometry sense entered English about 1676.

More about omphaloskepsis

It is not surprising that omphaloskepsis, a noun meaning 鈥渃ontemplating one鈥檚 navel鈥� and implying contempt, first occurs in Aldous Huxley鈥檚 satirical novel Those Barren Leaves (1925). (The equally dismissive adjective omphaloskeptical is first recorded in 1978). It is easy to deconstruct omphaloskepsis: 辞尘辫丑补濒贸s in Greek means 鈥渘avel, bellybutton, a boss on a shield,鈥� which comes from the very common Proto-Indo-European root enebh– with variants embh-, ombh-, nobh-, 苍艒产丑-, nebh– 鈥渂ellybutton, boss of a shield, hub of a wheel.鈥� Enebh– is the source of Latin 耻尘产颈濒墨肠耻蝉 “bellybutton” (from ombh-) and 耻尘产艒 鈥渢he boss of a shield鈥� (also from ombh-); Sanskrit 苍腻产丑墨濒补尘 “bellybutton鈥� (from 苍艒产丑-); Old Irish imblin, imbliu 鈥渂ellybutton鈥� (from embh-); Old High German naba and Old English nafu, both meaning 鈥渉ub鈥� (from nobh-); Old High German nabalo and Old English nafela, both meaning 鈥渂ellybutton鈥� (English navel).

The Greek noun and combining form 蝉办茅辫蝉颈蝉, –skepsis 鈥渧iewing, perception, examination, speculation鈥� is a derivative of the verb 蝉办茅辫迟别蝉迟丑补颈 鈥渢o look around, look back, consider, survey, spy on.鈥� 厂办茅辫迟别蝉迟丑补颈 comes from much earlier Greek skepjesthai, from the Greek root skep– and the present tense suffix –j– (representing the same sound as in yet). Latin has the verb聽specere “to look at, see, observe,鈥� whose present tense form 蝉辫别肠颈艒 shows the same suffix –j-. The Latin root is spec– (i.e., spek-) and the Greek is skep-: which one is 鈥渃orrect鈥�? The answer comes from other languages: Germanic has 蝉辫别丑艒苍 鈥渢o watch, spy on鈥� (from Proto-Indo-European spek-), Sanskrit has 蝉辫谩艣补迟颈 鈥渉e sees鈥� (from the Sanskrit root 蝉辫补艣-, from earlier 蝉辫别艣-, from an even earlier spek-). Greek 鈥渓oses.鈥�

More about punditocracy

Punditocracy, originally an American term, composed of pundit 鈥渓earned person, authority, maven鈥� and the thoroughly naturalized suffix –cracy “rule, government,” is a snarky noun used to refer to the elite members of the news media (also known as the commentariat鈥攁nother snarky noun). Pundit comes from Sanskrit 辫补峁囜笉颈迟补, an adjective and noun meaning 鈥渓earned, learned man鈥� (in Sanskrit language and literature, Hindu religion, philosophy, and law), also used as a title like Doctor. Punditocracy entered English in the mid-1980s.