circumbendibus
May. 10th, 2012 07:21 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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1word1daycircumbendibus (sur-kuhm-BEN-duh-buhs) - n., a roundabout or circuitous way.
Also an adjective, what with English grammar allowing for such usage, but this word gets me because I always want to use it as an adverb: "he traveled circumbendibus through the lower city," which is apparently Just Wrong -- it should be "he traveled by a circumbendibus." Note that it can also be used for wording, as a synonym for circumlocution. As you might guess, this is largely a humorous word, but it is not, in fact, a colorful 19th-century American mock-Latinism, but rather a colorful 17th-century British mock-Latinism: coined around 1670 from Latin circum, around + English bend + Latin -ibus, ablative plural ending.
Jane waited out Alice's extended explanation, but her polysyllabic circumbendibus did not convince her mother she'd just cause to break her curfew.
Administrivia: I'll be traveling next Thursday, and while I might have net access at some point during the day I know from experience I'd simply forget to post anyway. Anyone want to volunteer to do a guest post?
---L.
Also an adjective, what with English grammar allowing for such usage, but this word gets me because I always want to use it as an adverb: "he traveled circumbendibus through the lower city," which is apparently Just Wrong -- it should be "he traveled by a circumbendibus." Note that it can also be used for wording, as a synonym for circumlocution. As you might guess, this is largely a humorous word, but it is not, in fact, a colorful 19th-century American mock-Latinism, but rather a colorful 17th-century British mock-Latinism: coined around 1670 from Latin circum, around + English bend + Latin -ibus, ablative plural ending.
Jane waited out Alice's extended explanation, but her polysyllabic circumbendibus did not convince her mother she'd just cause to break her curfew.
Administrivia: I'll be traveling next Thursday, and while I might have net access at some point during the day I know from experience I'd simply forget to post anyway. Anyone want to volunteer to do a guest post?
---L.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-21 02:19 pm (UTC)