Definitions by Mikhail Epstein

chronocide 

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.

chronocide by Mikhail Epstein November 9, 2003

dunch 

dunch n (blend of "lunch" and "dinner"; cf. brunch) - a small meal between lunch and dinner in the late afternoon or early evening (about 3- 5 pm.).

This is a more appropriate word for an intermediate meal that once suggested "linner," because it is more similar to lunch than to dinner and is more brief (one syllable). It also follows the model of the neologism for another intermediate (or combined) meal - "brunch."

Dunch usually includes tea or coffee with cookies, sometimes a sandwich.

For tomorrow, I have already scheduled lunch and dinner with my colleagues. Let's have a dunch together.

dunch by Mikhail Epstein November 8, 2003

happicle 

happicle n (happy + diminutive suffix Ðicle, like in "particle," "icicle") Ð a particle of happiness, the smallest unit of happiness; a single happy occurrence or a momentary feeling of happiness.

There is no happiness in this world, but there are happicles. Sometimes we can catch them, fleeting and unpredictable as they are.

Like photons, happicles have zero mass at rest--the inertial mass that we identify with happiness. Happicles just flash and go out in passing. They may be as transitory as a fragrance in the air, or a yellow falling leaf, or a glance of a passerby on the street.

Happicles make life worth of living, even in the absence of stable happiness.

happicle by Mikhail Epstein November 8, 2003

traf (verb, from "traffic") 

traf v (back-formation from traffic) - to drive in heavy traffic, to be held in traffic, to trail in slow traffic.

Back-formation is the creation of a simpler or shorter form from a pre-existing more complex form: "edit" from "editor," "intuit from intuition."
Now, "traf" from "traffic."

I traffed for an hour before I could get home.
I've been traffing for two hours before I could even stop by a gas station to have a cup of coffee.

traf (verb, from "traffic") by Mikhail Epstein November 8, 2003

thanatagogy 

thanatagogy n (Greek thanatos, death + Greek agein, to lead; cf pedagogy, demagogy, mystagogy) Ð initiation into death, preparation for dying.

Thanatology is the study of death and dying; thanatagogy is a practical branch of this knowledge. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" is the most ancient manual in thanatagogy.

For Plato, philosophy is thebasis of thanatagogy. To study philosophy is nothing but to prepare oneself to die.

thanatagogy by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003

thanatagog 

thanatagog or thanatagogue (Greek thanatos, death + Greek agein, to lead; cf. pedagog, demagog, mystagog) - one who prepares old or terminally ill people for dying.

He is a thanatagog by vocation and occupation. He works at a hospice.

thanatagog by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003

netscapism

netscapism n (net + escapism) - an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities into the electronic network, or virtual world.

In the past, the wild nature and remote countries were the favorite refuge for escapists. Now netscapism, especially among adolescents, has grown into a serious social problem.

netscapism by Mikhail Epstein November 7, 2003