66 definitions by mikhail epstein
chronocide n (Gr. khronos, time + Lat. cidum, from caedere, to slay; cf. genocide, homicide, parricide) - the murder of time, the violent interruption of historical succession and continuity.
Any revolution is a form of chronocide: the past and present are sacrificed to the future. Any counterrevolution is also a chronocide: the present and the future are sacrificed to the past.
Communism is a chronocide: it destroys the tradition in its leap to the ungrounded future.
Fascism is a chronocide: it brings the society under the spell of the archaic past.
by mikhail epstein November 9, 2003
philophobia n (Greek philia, love + phobia, fear) - a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of love and intimacy, of deep relationship with smbd.
It seems Stalin suffered from philophobia. He never had a deep personal relationship with anybody, a man or a woman, either friendship or love.
by mikhail epstein November 8, 2003
enjoice smbd into v prefix en + joy; cf. rejoice - using false joy to talk someone into sharing an undesirable task; to entrap somebody by the appearance of joy, to deceive or trick into difficulty.
The prefix en-, like in engage, entrap, embrace, engulf, encircle, envelop, enclose, adds to the base the meaning "surrounding something or somebody or placing it within something."
The prefix en-, like in engage, entrap, embrace, engulf, encircle, envelop, enclose, adds to the base the meaning "surrounding something or somebody or placing it within something."
He looked extremely happy with his winning ticket, and he enjoyced me into entering these sweepstakes, which I would never have done otherwise.
The government tries to enjoice us into global expansion by claiming dubious victories, clearly in violation of international law.
The government tries to enjoice us into global expansion by claiming dubious victories, clearly in violation of international law.
by mikhail epstein November 3, 2003
foodnik n food + suffix nik Ð someone for whom food and eating are main joys of living and are full of sacral significance.
He invites me to cook together a dinner, but I will hardly meet his expectations. He is a real foodnik.
by mikhail epstein November 6, 2003
amortify verb trans. (Lat. amor, love + Lat. mort, death + suffix ify)
to act both with affection and ruthlessness, to inflict suffering or ruin by love.
to act both with affection and ruthlessness, to inflict suffering or ruin by love.
Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" is the story of four principal characters who consistently attempt to amortify each other and eventually succeed.
by mikhail epstein November 16, 2003
ambipathy n (Latin, Greek ambi- (or amphi), both, on both sides + Greek pathos, feeling) - a mixture of sympathy and antipathy, of attraction and repulsion; a condition of being torn apart by conflicting feelings and aspirations.
"... At once I hate and love as well," - this line by Catullus, Roman poet of the first century BC, is one of the first literary expressions of ambipathy.
Dmitry Karamazov in Dostoevsky says that "a man is too broad" and is equally attracted by the two abysses--the upper and the lower ones, the ideal of Madonna and the ideal of Sodom. In this sense, Dmitry and perhaps Dostoevsky himself are the brightest manifestations of this common trait of ambipathy.
Dmitry Karamazov in Dostoevsky says that "a man is too broad" and is equally attracted by the two abysses--the upper and the lower ones, the ideal of Madonna and the ideal of Sodom. In this sense, Dmitry and perhaps Dostoevsky himself are the brightest manifestations of this common trait of ambipathy.
by mikhail epstein November 7, 2003
conaster n from Latin cum, with + Greek astron, star - literally with star, the exact antonym to disaster; the fortunate outcome of an almost imminent disaster; the sensation of a catastrophe narrowly averted and later remembered from the vantage point of safety.
There were several conasters in my life that I cannot recall without thanking God for his undeserved mercy.
You were born under a lucky star. This conaster is an amazing mixture of chance and miracle.
by mikhail epstein November 3, 2003