A.Word.A.Day --anomia

A.Word.A.Day

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May 9, 2011

This week's theme
There is a word for it

This week's words
anomia
poetaster
subitize
philtrum
mysophobia

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

The English language is one big happy family that has something for everyone. It has a word for someone who never laughs (agelast) and a word for one who laughs too much (abderian). It has a word for fear of lightning (astraphobia) and a word for hatred of reason (misology). And in between these words, there are words for almost everything under the sun (and beyond).

This week we'll visit a few terms that make one say, "I didn't know there was a word for that!"

anomia

PRONUNCIATION:

(uh-NOH-mee-uh)

MEANING:

noun: The inability to recall names of people or objects.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin a- (without) + nom (name). Earliest documented use: 1900. Don't confuse the word with anomie.

USAGE:

"In Dad's case of anomia, he's been calling his nightly can of beer 'ink'. Sometimes he calls it 'gas', which makes a kind of sense."
Patricia Traxler; I'm Still Listening for My Father's Words; Newsweek (New York); Jun 11, 2007.

See more usage examples of anomia in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it. -Indian proverb

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