packrattery
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The behavior of a packrat; a tendency to collect miscellanea or bric-a-brac, often to excess.
Derogatory; Informal; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "But packrattery soon precluded any Williamsburgish consistency."
- "Many stories were tape-recorded at family reunions through the years (we also are record keepers, given a little leeway for chaos and packrattery)."
- "Remember the first principle of packrattery: Stuff will accumulate proportionate to the space and place made available for it."
- "Most of our books are not on the floor, at least, but on one shelf I see “The Soul of a New Machine” next to “All the King’s Men” topped by “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Why? I have no idea. It’s packrattery, but I can usually lay my hands on the volumes I need."
Etymology
Etymology tree English packrat Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -ārius Old French -ier Latin -ia Old French -ie Old French -eriebor. Middle English -erie English -ery English packrattery From packrat + -ery.