/r/neology
Neology: the use of a new word or expression or of an established word in a new or different sense : the use of new expressions that are not sanctioned by conventional standard usage : the introduction of such expressions into a language. -----
This subreddit is for introducing new words, discussing the new use for an existing word, or seeking help in creating a new word based on a provided definition.
As rich as the English language may be, countless concepts still float nebulously around the noösphere, looking for words to attach to them.
This community is dedicated to those nameless concepts, and those unborn words.
Guide to Submissions
No obscenities, please.
Related Communities
For a similar community with a broader mission, see r/words.
If you suspect that the word you're looking for already exists, try r/whatstheword. If you know it exists in a different language, consider cross-posting to /r/FoundWords.
For repurposing place names à la Douglas Adams, see /r/MeaningofLiff.
For designing whole languages, see /r/conlangs
Outside Reddit, see Words for That: similar to /r/neology, but not using Reddit's platform.
Other Reddit communities dedicated to neology, without a defined niche: /r/neologism [inactive], /r/neologisms, /r/lexiconabominations
Useful Resources
OneLook is an excellent dictionary aggregator: free and easy to use, with a particularly invaluable wildcard search feature.
The Online Etymology Dictionary can be a good source of inspiration.
Greek and Latin roots can come in handy. There are several convenient lists of them out there; here's Wikipedia's.
Google Books is one of the best resources for investigating whether/how a particular word has been used in the past.
Community inspired by this post by a_ill_literate in r/linguistics.
/r/neology
My gut tells me that word is Brat the the actual definition of it is badly behaved child and i think there could be a better word to use. Do yall know anything that fits what ive described?
Maver: A conjunction of maybe and never. Something that you would say to someone in place of 'maybe' but you actually mean 'never'. More often than not when someone says 'maybe', it never actually happens.. it would also be softer instead of just flat out saying "it's never going to happen" but instead of "maybe", because when you say maybe it sometimes gets a person's hopes up that there is a chance of it happening, when in reality you know there's not
Used as an example in a sentence: "Do you think you and I have a chance of being together?" "Ehhhh... maver"
Sounds like: m'ay'ver spelt as maver. It just visually looks right spelling it as maver to me, though some may disagree
What do y'all think or is it a already made up word here? I've never heard of it being used in a conversation though.
English has single words for days (today/tomorrow/yesterday) but nothing for weeks. Some proposals:
thweek = this week
neek = next week
preek = previous week
Examples in use:
"The deadline is thweek"
"Meeting scheduled for neek"
"Report from preek needs review"
Thoughts? Other suggestions?
As it stands right now, animation in the US (and really, most of the western world, but especially the US) has an image problem. It's also a big part of the reason anime is so popular outside of Japan. People who want serious, mature stories in animation often feel like they have no choice but to watch anime. That being said, there have been attempts to create "western anime" in the past, and while some of them are very good, they don't really press the same buttons as anime.
Ideally, though, I’d like it if someone could come up with a way to market serious adult animation that doesn’t draw comparisons to anime at all. After all, anime was only marketed in the west as something separate and distinct from American cartoons starting in the 1980s. You had anime in the US before then, absolutely, but that was stuff like Speed Racer and Gigantor that was mostly pretty similar to western cartoons. The point is, "anime" is seen in the US as an exotic commodity, which puts domestic attempts to compete with it at an inherent disadvantage. So for a while, I've wondered if American adult animated dramas would be more marketable and competitive with anime if they had their own snappy name they could be sold under, a way of convincing their target audience that they were "more than just cartoons".
That's where the word "PrimalVania" comes in. It's derived from Primal and Castlevania, which are two of the first successful American adult animated dramas. And I feel like it's as good a word as any for the adult animated dramas that are now becoming more common than ever before both on streaming services and on cable networks like Adult Swim. But there's more to a PrimalVania than just its genre. PrimalVania, the way I see it, is a specific genre of adult animation that covers everything from art style to narrative type. In other words, you know it when you see it.
What makes a show a PrimalVania?
What are some examples of PrimalVanias?
Cambridge University seeks SWEETTOOTHED student for chocolate PhD
Poorhouses are filled with POORROOMS
In the cars universe, Kevin Bacon stars in 'WHEELLOOSE'
No need to take multiple Jeeps. We should just JEEPPOOL
Is your child digging through the trash? Does he have opposable thumbs? Is he sneaking around? We can help you even if you think your son is trying to hide his RACCOONNESS?
Mark Fuckerberg announces "The BOOBBOOK" social Network
An idiot who acts on impulse
This word came to me in a dream. It means: ‘Expecting or anticipating negative criticism’.
Used in a sentence:
Something sort of like the rotation of a planet, where its so massive that it's movement appears slow. Im trying to describe a sort of living whirlpool. And ive got "a languid and patient swirl"
It sounds more like a sniglet than a serious word, but I feel like it has legs and I can run with it.
Yeah basically the title. I've got a start on a German compound but would like someone with more German fluency to check me on it/propose alternatives (see comment).
Bumpenfreude - /BUMP-en-froid/ - (noun) the phenomenon of bumping into something constantly whenever you don't need it, and being unable to find it when you do need it. Frequently occurs in connection with Phillips-head screwdrivers, ground allspice, and watch batteries. A new English word, inspired by the German tradition of creating words for very specific experiences (like "Schadenfreude," "Torschlusspanik," or "Backpfeifengesicht").
A whimsical term to describe pterosaurs and any other flying reptile.
Referring to a person - as in 'Richard Fuld was the final CEO of Leaman Bros' or anything like that.
Prefer a latin phrase, if applicable.
Cousin-by-commonality is your cousin’s cousin with whom you are not related. You have at least one cousin in common. The nibling of your aunt/uncle who married into the family. The same concept for a relative-by-commonality. Your cousin’s other grandma is your grandma-by-commonality, your cousin’s uncle (who is not your uncle) is your uncle-by-commonality.
Here’s a family tree to better explain
I've been doing some solo travel around the world; I absolutely love it and have seen incredible things. Even though I haven't been lonely, I have occasionally had a melancholic wistful feeling, a little sadness, about seeing something amazing or having this ineffable experience that is now wholly private and impossible to fully communicate or share.
I'm trying to come up specifically with a name for the feeling of not even being able to fully share the experience with someone who wasn't there, not the experience itself that was missed out on.
My own goofy idea was to just smash some German words together for something like kannichteilen.
Hi - I know this isn't exactly in the spirit of the sub but it's close:
I recall reading an expression along the lines of "Italian Bricklayer Syndrome" which refers to the fact that renaissance workers who were contracted to tile floors would refuse to work if someone was watching because they wanted to keep their trade secrets. Now I think it can more broadly be used to describe someone who doesn't like being watched while they work, not necessarily to protect trade secrets.
Does anyone know the expression I'm half remembering?
I like spicy food, hot sauces, spicy ramen, General Tso's chicken, things like that. Sometimes I get past my tolerance level or eat too much of a good thing.
I have been workshopping different Greek and Latin combinations and have landed on this:
Heterhemerasthesia
The feeling that it is a different day of the week than it actually is. Instances of heterhemerasthesia increase when midweek holidays occur.
I’m looking for a singular word that fits the description -
An appreciation/attraction towards the time and effort one invests in their appearance.
NOT a direct attraction to their appearance, but the intricacy involved. (A metrosexual would be appreciated for this)
Example; a person is very good at their makeup, yes their makeup is attractive, but I love the tiny detail and time they invested themselves into their craft. How they took the time to blend, the symmetry, all of their dedication into that look for the day.
Example 2; a friend has their apartment set up in a very particular way , yes the layout is nice , but I appreciate the time and details of themselves investing their creative vision into their space.
I'm analyzing chess board positions for the number of legal moves. Some have more than others, and I'm searching for the one with the most legal moves. I'm looking for a word which can be used in the superlative form "the most X chess position".
I've considered "complex" but this doesn't exactly capture the meaning since a "complex" board position usually describes a highly tactical situation with many interacting pieces.
Also "overchoice" can describe psychological stress from having too many options, but most of these positions with many options are completely one-sided, not stressful at all.
If there's an existing word in another language, that's also perfectly fine.
Thanks!
IS gluing words like convenience store into combini in Japan an English thing too? I just came up with seredipibeaus. I know it doesn't make sense, but it's phonetically sane to me, trust me
I'm trying to find a word to describe situation where it seems fate intervenes. I understand the word "coincidence" is a thing. However, "serendipity" seems to have a positive connotation. Is there a similar word that has a negative or neutral connotation?
In the vain of "No good deed goes unpunished."
What is the word for when you try to be helpful or follow the rules and it backfires?
e.g I park my car with enough room so someone can park behind me. Someone parks behind me. The next day their car is gone and the back corner of my car has been scraped by the car I left room for.
e.g My smart phone won't open. My friend says he knows how to open it and accidentally breaks the latches on the phone so now it doesn't stay closed.
It's probably a verb I'm hoping for.
*Phone breaks "Bro, did you just [word for breaking something trying to fix it] ?"
Hello all,
I've added a description to the /r/neology home page to clarify just what the subreddit is meant to be for. Additionally, I've added a couple new post flair options for anyone to use.
For the description, I said that the subreddit is for introducing new words, discussing a novel use for existing words, or seeking help creating a new word based on a provided definition.
The new post flair is intended to help identify what posters are looking for, and make it easier for readers to find them.
The new flairs are:
"Neo This" - If you're looking to get help in creating a brand new word, post a definition for the subject (expand on it in the post's body if needed) and other users can offer their suggestions or ask for more clarification.
"Proposed Word" - If you came up with a new word and you think it's worth sharing with us, please make sure to put the word in the title along with a brief description. If more description is warranted, feel free to expand in the post body.
"Word Discussion" - If you have encountered a new word, new use of a word, or new expression in the wild and you want to discuss it, please include it in the post title and use this flair.
"Meta" - If you wish to discuss the rules, practices, moderation, settings, or cromulence of this subreddit please use this flair.
Note that these new post flairs are not required for posting, they're just meant to make things a little easier to read around here.
Thank you for participating in /r/neology !
Awhile ago a group of people complained the local theatre was putting on a play about an LGBT character but they were unhappy because the actor cast was not LGBT.
It is my understanding is that the unhappy group were not regular threatre goers but the director appeased the vocal minority and recast.
My unsolicited advice for the director was agree to recast IF all performances sell out within a certain timeframe.
A noun would be ideal.
"Yes! Did you hear we won the fight! They're recasting that LGBT role!"
"Cool. What night should we go?"
"Oh...I don't really like stage theatre."
"But you protested the casting?! You're just a [word I'm looking for]."
Is there an existing word that encompasses the feeling one might get when lookin at, for example, eyes so beautifully hypnotic everything else seems to disappear for a moment. Not love or entrancement I don’t think. If there isn’t a word for that what could be the word for that ?
I have read that using water is never a good idea in hydraulics because it is reactive (causes rust and other issues). Wikipedia says the word "hydraulic" comes from the greek words "water" and "pipe". I'm trying to think of a word that is a contraction of "oil" and "pipe". What would be a good neologism for that? "Oleaulic"?
Like a really, really, really, really bad F-A-I-L-U-R-E
I am looking to research and apply this term across all kinds and forms of religious groups/organizations, including ones that at first might be perceived as peaceful or pacifistic.