Nympholepsy

lulu · 03-08-2006, 09:44 PM

I could go so many places with this word, I don't know where to begin!!!

Nympholepsy (Noun)
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Pronunciation: ['nim-fê-lep-see]
Definition 1: Frenzied emotions resulting from being captured by nymphs or, for weaker souls, simply seeing them. Hence, emotional anxiety brought on by attempts to attain the unattainable.
Usage 1: A person suffering from nympholepsy is a nympholept and the adjective is "nympholeptic." (Using the same template, we might say that a person brought to a state of ecstasy by captivation with words is a logolept, someone who suffers logoleptic rapture. If you don't like today's word, be the first on your block to apply this one.)
Suggested usage: Today's word may be used metaphorically, "Years of work on his electric fork left Fitzwalling in a state of nympholeptic angst that no psychiatrist could dissipate." It may also be used literally (believe it or not) so long as "nymph" is assumed metaphorical, "Conrad left the topless bar with a nympholeptic beam on his face so distinct it raised suspicion in the eyes of every policeman he passed on the way to his hotel."
Etymology: Greek nympholeptos "captured by nymphs, frenzied" from nymphe "young bride, low-level goddess" + leptos "seized," past participle of lambanein "to take, seize." Greek "nymphe" shares an origin with Latin nubere "to cover, veil, marry," nubilis "marriageable," and nubes "a cloud." Another word in this family is Greek nephos "cloud."

—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com