Immortal Earworms
The Word Collector — Part 30
This is the latest in a series about new words and phrases, specimens collected during expeditions into the deepest, darkest literary and media wilderness, and displayed for perusal, purview and pontification. These are new to me, but of course you may know some or all of them already, in which case you are welcome to marvel at my ignorance.
parabiosis — this word turned up in a fascinating BBC Sounds podcast called “Intrigue — The Immortals”, about people trying to increase longevity, many of them ascribing to transhumanism. Parabiosis is a laboratory technique used in physiological research, derived from the Greek word meaning “living beside.” The technique involves the surgical joining of two living organisms in such a way that they develop a single, shared physiological system: don’t try this one at home.
Through this unique approach, researchers can study the exchange of blood, hormones, and other substances between the two organisms, allowing for the examination of a wide range of physiological phenomena and interactions. Parabiosis has been employed in various fields of study, including stem cell research, endocrinology, ageing research, and immunology.
The concept of increasing longevity seems of particular interest to some billionaires, and there are even people having blood transfusions from young people to try and stay young, though there are doubts about the efficacy and safety of such methods -
One wealthy advocate is trying to achieve “longevity escape velocity” by having transfusions from his teenage son -
It remains to be seen if he will now find himself addicted to TikTok and glued to his mobile phone.
One of the firms offering this treatment is called “Ambrosia” — the food of the gods! Since you ask, the cost of a full-body blood transfusion is about $8,000. However, I am not convinced that the quest for immortality is anything other than hubris. However I do think that, as the old saying goes, youth is wasted on the young.
gonzo — I had heard this word used, relating to or denoting journalism of an exaggerated, subjective, and fictionalised style. However, it turned up as a description of the blood transfusion idea being described above, meaning bizarre or crazy, which seems very apt.
Gilgamesh- this also turned up in the discussion about longevity. Gilgamesh is the best-known of all ancient Mesopotamian heroes. Numerous tales in the Akkadian language have been told about Gilgamesh, and the whole collection has been described as the odyssey of a king who did not want to die.
To move on to other subjects the following may also be of interest.
kayling- this word, for an old form of the game skittles, turned up in an article by Susie Kearly, about a stately home called Trerice in Cornwall.
I thought that it is funny how at least half the place names in Cornwall start with “Tre…..” so I looked it up and the prefix refers to a village or other settlement. The phrase Tre, Pol and Pen is used to describe people from or places in Cornwall, UK. The full rhyming couplet runs:
“By Tre Pol and Pen / Shall ye know all Cornishmen.”
Many Cornish surnames and place names still retain these words as prefixes, such as the surname Trelawny and the village Polzeath. Pol means a pond, lake or well; and Pen a hill or headland. .
Yarmulke — The word was uncovered in “Partisan” by Patrick Worrall, a word I had heard of before but needed to remind myself. A kippah, yarmulke, skullcap, or koppel is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfil the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is worn by all men in Orthodox Jewish communities during prayers and by most Orthodox Jewish men at all other times.
Pasha — the title of a Turkish officer of high rank. Or a large orange-brown butterfly with two tails on each hindwing and complex patterns on the underwings, occurring around the Mediterranean and in Africa. Best not to mix the two up! Also from “Partisan” by Patrick Worrall
Cawl (pronounced [kaʊ̯l]) is a Welsh dish. In modern Welsh the word is used for any soup or broth; in English it refers to a traditional Welsh soup, usually called cawl Cymreig (literally ‘Welsh soup’) in Welsh. Historically, ingredients tended to vary, but the most common recipes are with lamb or beef with leeks, potatoes, swedes, carrots and other seasonal vegetables. Cawl is recognised as a national dish of Wales. The word turned up on BBC Master Chef, a programme I am force-fed by Mrs. Pearce in the interest of a quiet life.
Bayesian statistics is a field of statistics based on the Bayesian interpretation of probability where probability expresses a degree of belief in an event. The degree of belief may be based on prior knowledge about the event, such as the results of previous experiments, or on personal beliefs about the event. The word turned up in “Partisan” and that is the description I looked up, and if you are none the wiser after reading it, that makes two of us.
Moving swifly on –
Seder — a Jewish ritual service and ceremonial dinner for the first night or first two nights of Passover. This word turned up in the book “The Village Effect” by Susan Pinker which I am currently reading, which makes some remarkable observations about the importance of regular, high-quality social contact, on health and happiness.
propinquity — from the same book by Susan Pinker, this means the state of being close to someone or something; proximity, or close kinship.
ammoniac — a noun meaning the aromatic gum resin of a southwest Asian herb of the carrot family used as an expectorant and stimulant and in plasters. Also from Susan Pinker’s book.
felicific — this adjective meaning relating to or promoting increased happiness, turned up in the book “Enough” by John Naish, which I recently borrowed from the local book exchange.
Selacimorph — this is a name for the shark family of creatures, a turned up in Sunday’s “Observer” I presume because the author wanted a synonym to avoid repeating themselves. They made reference in the article to the song “Baby Shark”, which is high in the charts for the most annoying songs ever released, an earworm that is highly infectious and impossible to eradicate, more likely to achieve immortality than those billionaires. A link to the song is below, but it comes with a health warning!
Agrume — this word is French for citrus, and Mrs. Pearce brought a bottle of this drink home from her latest expedition to the local garden centre. The plants must have been relieved at their close escape.
I hope you enjoyed this collection, and do share any favourites of your own in the comments.
As always, thank you for reading.
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