Meaning: in a ratio of one to nine and three parts; in the example used by Sir Thomas, nine and three eighths, or 9.375.
Usefulness: 3 (I suspect this word's main use is to impress people; you could, for example, describe the Hogwarts railway platform as the platform of subnovitripartient fourths.)
Logofascination: 1 (Built from blocks of Latin: sub-, used in this case to reverse the ratio; novi-, nine; tri-, three; partient, dividing. The sub- indicates that it's one to nine and three parts, rather than vice versa.)
In the wild: Gets a mention in Joseph Shipley's The Origins of English Words. This word only appears in Sir Thomas' Ekskybalauron, so Mr Shipley is obviously among the logofascinated - not particularly surprising in an etymologist.
Degrees: 0
Connections: n/a
Which is used in: Ekskybalauron, on the very last page. Sir Thomas has made a list of the Scottish Colonels he has mentioned, but goes on to say that he couldn't make a list of the Scots renowned for 'literature and personal valour' because he would have to leave too many out. The ratio will apparently
I'm thinking of using "the lesser definite for a greater indefinite" as a disclaimer on my financial reports.
*8/75 and 72/675 obviously both equal 9.375.
Usefulness: 3 (I suspect this word's main use is to impress people; you could, for example, describe the Hogwarts railway platform as the platform of subnovitripartient fourths.)
Logofascination: 1 (Built from blocks of Latin: sub-, used in this case to reverse the ratio; novi-, nine; tri-, three; partient, dividing. The sub- indicates that it's one to nine and three parts, rather than vice versa.)
In the wild: Gets a mention in Joseph Shipley's The Origins of English Words. This word only appears in Sir Thomas' Ekskybalauron, so Mr Shipley is obviously among the logofascinated - not particularly surprising in an etymologist.
Degrees: 0
Connections: n/a
Which is used in: Ekskybalauron, on the very last page. Sir Thomas has made a list of the Scottish Colonels he has mentioned, but goes on to say that he couldn't make a list of the Scots renowned for 'literature and personal valour' because he would have to leave too many out. The ratio will apparently
bear the analogy, to use a lesser definite for a greater indefinite, of a subnovitripartient eights; that is to say, in plain English, the whole being the dividend, and my nomenclature the divisor, the quotient would be nine, with a fraction of three-eights; or yet more clearly, as the proportion of 72 to 675.Sir Thomas is using dividend in its original sense of 'something to be divided'. Shipley's example is the simpler 8 to 75*, but Sir Thomas uses bigger numbers, presumably because they're more impressive.
I'm thinking of using "the lesser definite for a greater indefinite" as a disclaimer on my financial reports.
*8/75 and 72/675 obviously both equal 9.375.
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