Neologisms come from many sources. An invented name, a character, an acronym, a genericization. So “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation” becomes laser and “Xerox” becomes “xerox”. Leading to the paradoxical proposition “Xerox saved itself from extinction by moving from xeroxing to laser printing”. Mass culture offers mass choice for the neologist. We might… Continue reading #OTD 21 December – A neologist’s day
Tag: Chaucer
#OTD 14 February
One day, new ways wake up as traditions. In the 1950s, CS Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia; in it, the affairs of Narnia were discussed by a parliament of owls; the books sold well; and somewhere along the way “parliament” became the “correct” collective for owls. Lewis took his legislature from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Parlement… Continue reading #OTD 14 February