idioticon
/ˌɪdiˈoʊtək(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "IDIO′TICON. (Gr[eek]) A word of frequent use in Germany, signifying a dictionary confined to a particular dialect, or containing words and phrases peculiar to one part of a country."
- "There exist in Germany several valuable Idiotica."
- ""Wische," says the Westerwald Idioticon, "expresses a quick movement connected with a whizzing or swishing sound.""
- "This gentleman [Titus Tobler] certainly made a greater name by his work on Palestine than by that on the language of his native land; nevertheless this book marks a great advance in the scientific treatment of an Idioticon, particularly through the more accurate specification of the actual sounds and forms of the popular idiom."
- "The ideal [Taco H.] de Beer had in mind, was an "idioticon", which he probably visualized as a dictionary comprising all the Netherlandic dialects. Idiotica were the first results also of Flemish dialectological activities."
- "[T]he Flemings, anxious that the dictionary would turn out to be too 'Hollandic', started collecting their own regional words for a general Flemish idioticon."
Etymology
PIE word *swé Borrowed from German Idiotikon, Idioticon (archaic), from Late Latin idioticon (chiefly in the titles of works), from Ancient Greek ἰδιωτικόν (idiōtikón), the neuter singular of ἰδιωτικός (idiōtikós, “pertaining to or for a person not engaged in public affairs; private; amateurish”), from ῐ̓δῐώτης (ĭdĭṓtēs, “person not engaged in public affairs; amateur, layperson; ignorant person, idiot”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). ῐ̓δῐώτης is derived from ῐ̓́δῐος (ĭ́dĭos, “private (as opposed to public); distinct, separate; peculiar, specific”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self (reflexive pronoun)”) + -ώτης (-ṓtēs, suffix forming nouns referring to types of persons). The English word is cognate with Dutch idioticon. The plural form idiotica is derived from German Idiotika, Latin idiotica, and Ancient Greek ἰδιωτῐκᾰ́ (idiōtĭkắ).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Idiotikon, idioticon, ἰδιωτικόν, *swé
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɪdiˈoʊtək(ə)n/
- British English: /ˌɪdɪˈəʊtɪk(ə)n/