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Oct 22, 2007

This week's theme
There is a word for it

This week's words
famulus
caruncle
lexiphanes
dewclaw
nosism

Previous week’s theme
Words for bosses, officials, and leaders

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Dear Anu,

Some time ago I wrote to ask if there was a word in any language for a parent who has lost a child. My husband and I lost our son in the insane war in Iraq. You sent me a kind reply saying no. I am submitting this Pennsylvania-Dutch word, zeitlang, I found in the paper.

I shared it with some other Gold Star families who liked the word and description. Yesterday was Gold Star Mothers Day. I hate it. Everyone in the family is suffering, not just the mother. I like the sound of this Pennsylvania-Dutch word, perhaps because of my German heritage. So my family, my brothers and sisters in sorrow and I remain forever zeitlangers.

Sincerely,

Diane Davis Santoriello
Proud mother of 1st Lt. Neil A. Santoriello KIA 9-13-04 (dianesantoriello at hotmail.com)

Pennsylvania Dutch is a dialect of German spoken by 17/18th century migrants from south Germany and Switzerland who had settled in Pennsylvania. The word Dutch here is a variant spelling of Deutsch (German language). Zeitlang in German means "a while" (from Zeit: time + lang: long). The sense mentioned in the newspaper article is not found in German, but that doesn't mean one can't extend it. After all, that's one of the ways a language grows. And what good is a language if it can't give voice to our deepest sorrows and joys?

This week we'll see a few words that do exist, words that make us say, "I didn't know there was a word for it."

famulus

noun: An assistant, especially to a magician or a scholar.

[From Latin famulus (servant).]

"But now television is trying to coolify magic by ridding it of its associations with slimeballs in sequined suits, assisted by a mute famulus bedecked in feathers, mascara, and an inane grin, together partaking in a mindless ritual of sawing, stabbing, and vanishing."
Victor Lewis-Smith; Don't Shoot, This is Live; The Evening Standard (London, UK); Oct 6, 2003.

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

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