Monday, April 25, 2011

Word Up Weekly - Anachronym


This word was submitted by reader Marc L to "describe words like 'dashboard' (originally a board at the front of a carriage to protect passengers from debris thrown up by horses' hooves - now used for a panel on the interior of a car)."

anachronym

Urban Dictionary defines the word as "A combination of the words 'acronym' and 'anachronism'. There is no real definition because a combination of the two words makes absolutely no sense. Something Nicolette says when shes had too many Smifnoff Blueberry vokda cocktails."

I think that the Urban Dictionary user who submitted the definition had too many vodkas because he couldn't spell Smirnoff.

I also prefer to think of the word as a portmanteau of anachronism + -onym*

anachronism: a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another time

-onym: having a specified kind of name (English suffix from Greek)

Thank you Mark L, I like it.

*Definitions from The Free Dictionary

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...