Sunday, December 23, 2012

Acrocomic

Meaning: long-haired

Usefulness: 2 (The best use I've come up with so far is as an impressive sounding New Year's resolution: "I'm thinking of being more/less acrocomic in 2013.")

Logofascination: 1 (From Greek meaning hair on the crown or tip, which allows the OED to sneak a goat reference into the etymology:  "in Hellenistic Greek also having hair at the tip, like a goat's chin". Acro- applies to extremities - heights, tips, beginnings - and thus turns up in acronym, acropolis and acrostic.)

In the wild: Nope.

Degrees: 2

Connections: acrocomic - acromion (the point of the shoulder blade)

Which is used in: G&P, First Book (Gargantua), XLIII: How the scouts and fore-party of Picrochole were met with by Gargantua, and how the Monk slew Captain Drawforth (Tirevant.), and then was taken prisoner by his enemies.
Then did the monk with his staff of the cross give him such a sturdy thump and whirret betwixt his neck and shoulders, upon the acromion bone, that he made him lose both sense and motion and fall down stone dead at his horse's feet; and, seeing the sign of the star which he wore scarfwise, he said unto Gargantua, These men are but priests, which is but the beginning of a monk; by St. John, I am a perfect monk, I will kill them to you like flies.

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