This week’s theme
There’s a word for it

This week’s words
heightism
theophoric
ekphrasis
diegetic
yesterweek

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(thee-uh/oh-FOR-ik)

MEANING:

adjective: Having or derived from the name of a god.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek theo- (god) + -phoric (bearing). Earliest documented use: 1891.

NOTES:

It’s obvious that any name beginning with theo has god as its origin, such as Theodore (literally, god’s gift). But theo is hiding in places where it’s not as obvious. Consider Tiffany, which is another form of theophany (appearance of a god), also known as epiphany. Names of gods of various religions appear in the names of people:
Abdullah, from Arabic, literally, servant of god
Christopher, from Greek, literally, Christ-bearer
Jonathan, from Hebrew, literally, Yahweh has given
Mohandas (Gandhi’s first name), from Hindi, literally, servant of Krishna

USAGE:

“Elijah is a small man, hardly five feet tall. His theophoric name means ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
Rabbi Migosh; Elizah Comes to Dinner; The Jewish Quarterly; Summer 1996.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: