Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

A.Word.A.Day--vox barbara

vox barbara (VOKS BAHR-buhr-uh) noun

A barbarous word or phrase, especially applied to supposedly neo-Latin terms that are neither Latin nor Greek.

[From Latin vox barbara (foreign word or speech).]

"To get at what I do mean I need an Anglicism (not, be it noted, a Briticism, which word is an Americanism and a vox barbara to boot)."
Kingsley Amis; Amis on English; The Guardian (London, UK); Mar 10, 1997.

This week's theme: Words about words

X-Bonus