HEBETUDE

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Dr. Goodword
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HEBETUDE

Postby Dr. Goodword » Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:23 pm

• hebetude •

Pronunciation: he-bê-tyud • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural)

Meaning: Mental dullness, lethargy of thought.

Notes: Hebetude is the noun for the rather archaic adjective hebete "dull, mentally slow", not often used any more—but it is still out there in really, really comprehensive dictionaries. If this word is too short for you, please feel free to substitute hebetudinous, which has the same meaning.

In Play: Hebetude is not quite stupidity; it is simply a mental slowness or dullness: "The mortician had captured on the face of M. T. Head that same expression of hebetude that characterized it in life." The real advantage of this word, however, is that its infrequency allows you to use it even in the presence of hebetudinous people, as in: "It is less your attitude that worries me, Dwight, than your hebetude." If Dwight is not hebetudinous, he will run to the dictionary and make sure to avoid making such an impression in the future.

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from Late Latin hebetudo "dullness, bluntness", the noun from hebe(t)s "dull (physically or mentally)". Where Latin got this stem is a mystery since we do not find any related words in other Indo-European languages. Even English only borrowed it once, leaving us with nothing more to say about it. If you are still hungry for etymology, you might like the newly discovered etymology of the name of the US state of Idaho. (Today we thank a man totally lacking in what the word he suggested signifies, Professor Will Strockbine, recently retired from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.)
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Bailey
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Postby Bailey » Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:35 pm

good word

mark hebedude Bailey

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Re: HEBETUDE

Postby gailr » Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:55 am

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from Late Latin hebetudo "dullness, bluntness", the noun from hebe(t)s "dull (physically or mentally)". Where Latin got this stem is a mystery since we do not find any related words in other Indo-European languages.
Hebe was the Greek goddess of youth and cupbearer to the rest of the Olympians. Much later she was pressed into service as a symbol of clean living for some turn-of-the-century US WCTU chapters, and interpreted by sculptors as bearing a cup of water (rather than wine, the demon rum, or ouzo) to encourage sobriety. History records that this initiative was wildly successful...

Perhaps this 'reinvented' image of Hebe fits better with the Latin definition?

Hebephrenia is considered a disorganized form of schizophrenia; which, one must deduce, is even less socially desirable than the organized forms.

-gailr

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Postby Perry » Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:44 am

I sometimes suffer from Hebrewphrenia. I will be talking to my mother on the phone, for example, and because I happen to be looking at my wife (a native Hebrew speaker), I will make some remark in Hebrew to my mother (who is clueless as to what I have just said).
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Postby scw1217 » Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:27 pm

I have had this problem more than once. Math does it to me. On a 2nd note, the word that it brought to mind, and probably not related, is heebie-jeebies.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search? ... ie-jeebies

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Postby Bailey » Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:42 pm

or a varient heard on a Movie to describe the same thing Epizootics, which is of course technically the wrong word but gives theimpression that it's like crawling with itchy bugs.

mark nevermind-my mind is so weird Bailey

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Postby Bailey » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:52 pm

While on the subject of heebee jeebies how about
tsim·mes or tzim·mes (tsms)
n.
1. A stew of vegetables or fruits cooked slowly over very low heat.
2. Informal A state of confusion.



[Yiddish tsimes : Middle High German ze, zuo, to, for (from Old High German; see de- in Indo-European roots) + Middle High German imbiz, light meal (from Old High German, from enbizzan, to eat : in, in; see en in Indo-European roots + bzan, bizzan, to bite; see bheid- in Indo-European roots).]
For our purposes I'm thinking meaning two here.

mark making-the-most-of-confusion Bailey

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Postby skinem » Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:16 pm

or a varient heard on a Movie to describe the same thing Epizootics, which is of course technically the wrong word but gives theimpression that it's like crawling with itchy bugs.

mark nevermind-my mind is so weird Bailey
A "Southernism" I've heard is "epizooty", as in "I've got the epizooty." Usually meaning a stomach ailment.

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Postby Perry » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:15 am

While on the subject of heebee jeebies how about
tsim·mes or tzim·mes (tsms)
n.
1. A stew of vegetables or fruits cooked slowly over very low heat.
2. Informal A state of confusion.




[Yiddish tsimes : Middle High German ze, zuo, to, for (from Old High German; see de- in Indo-European roots) + Middle High German imbiz, light meal (from Old High German, from enbizzan, to eat : in, in; see en in Indo-European roots + bzan, bizzan, to bite; see bheid- in Indo-European roots).]
For our purposes I'm thinking meaning two here.

mark making-the-most-of-confusion Bailey
As definition 2, the quantifier big is always found before tsimes.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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