Skip to main content

Entymology 

The study of words that bug you.
Regina earned her degree in entymology after successfully defending her thesis, titled "Guesstimation at the expresso stand: the impact of misnomers in coffee culture".
Entymology by sigil_vii October 28, 2016
Words you can keep

Entymology 

A word made up by people who don't know the difference between etymology (the study of word origins) and entomology (the study of insects).
u/etymologynerd single-handedly destroyed the r/entymology subreddit last year by pointing out that it's not a word.
Entymology by etymologycrusader January 1, 2019

monty pythonesque application of the principles of logic and etymology 

The standard logic used by such people as the knights of the round table. It's sound logic that can only be understood by men of science.

E.g. You want to test if a woman is a witch. You burn witches, but you also burn wood. This means witches burn because they are made of wood. Wood also floats in water, just like a duck. So therefore, if she weighs the same as a duck, then she is made out of wood, and is therefore a witch. Now you must weigh her on a set of large scales with a duck, and if they weigh the same, she is guilty of being a witch.
Well, Bernard, that is some Monty Pythonesque application of the principles of logic and etymology right there!

etymological terrorist 

A person who purposefully misuses a term or tries to appropriate a term based on historical meanings in order to advance a political agenda.

Terms some etymological terrorists have used in the past:

Isolationist to refer to non-interventionism
Classical libertarian to refer to communism
and more.
Bill Kristol is being an etymological terrorist when he calls people who don't want to always be involved in a war "isolationists" when in fact isolationism is what North Korea has and non-interventionism is what Switzerland has.
etymological terrorist by Gunguy September 6, 2016

netymology

The study of the evolution and propagation of common internet terms and memes. Especially when done in a non-scientific way or by non-linguists (compared to proper etymology).
Hey, does anyone know the netymology of "KTHXBAI"?
netymology by miyako_houou January 11, 2008

etymology 

I am surprised that this word is not here yet....now it is.

Etymology is the study of the origins of words. Some words have been derived from other languages, possibly in a changed form (the source words are called etymons). Through old texts and comparisons with other languages, etymologists try to reconstruct the history of words — when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning changed.

A word often misused and mispronounced 'entymology' which is the study of insects!
Etymology in action:

"The etymologist spent hours describing the origin of the word "nice" to the students. Unfortunately no one understood what he was talking about and were all in a deep slumber after 10 minutes."

"The dean spent weeks trying to track down the entymologist to give a lecture on the derivation of the word 'aunt.' When the entymologist finally arrived discussing the workings of one of the most interesting insects on Earth, the dean was promptly fired for being a fraud."
etymology by psiscott April 27, 2006

entomologist 

a zoologist who studies insects;the scientific study of insects
also, entomology - the act of studying insects
Tom wants to be an entomologist, just like his father was.
entomologist by SydneyS June 24, 2006
More from Urban Dictionary

Back when I lived in upstate new york 

A meaningless, unimpressive, self-serving introduction. An indicator that the story about to be shared will be pointless and dumb.
Back when I lived in upstate new york, I also had to park on the street - on two occasions, we got enough snow, mixed with just the right plowing, that my car was lifted off the ground from so much snow being jammed underneath it.
Word of the Day on August 31, 2026
Acronym, meaning Too Long Didn't Understand
Similar to TLDR
Sister: This meeting was to discuss the rough draft of my essay, where we discussed the subsidiary questions I added in my rough draft. We also discussed the relationship between my main title and the real-life situations I chose to use in my essay. We discussed the structure of my essay as well, specifically the Math AOK section and how it relates to the contradiction of the title. This second meeting was particularly helpful in discussing the implications of my essay claims and how to apply the title across various areas of knowledge. There were many sections of the essay that could have been cut down in wordiness and the ways of knowing required further and more in-depth analysis.

Me: Woah! TLDU!
TLDU by L-Evans January 14, 2019
Word of the Day on August 30, 2026
the act of having anonymous sexual encounters with other men in public toilets.
Cottaging by greeef April 24, 2003
Word of the Day on August 29, 2026

Salad Days 

green inexperienced youthful judgement and cold blooded execution of those judgements.

Rashness with little concern of consequence.

Antony and Cleopatra. William Shakespeare

"My salad days,
When I was green in judgment, cold in blood."

- William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, 1.5
"How did you end up in jail?"

"Salad days, 'nuf said."
Salad Days by GilbyRFC0 October 7, 2011
Word of the Day on August 28, 2026

age gate 

An absolutely foolproof way to keep minors from viewing content deemed "too mature" for them to watch.
Billy: "So I was trying to watch some videos for an M rated game, and I ran into an age gate, so I put in my real birthday. SOMEHOW it managed to figure out that I am 12. CURSE YOU AGE GATE!!!"

Bill: "Fucking age gate! *quick scroll* THERE! I was born on January 1, 1904. Fuck you age gate."
age gate by Banja January 7, 2011
Word of the Day on August 27, 2026
Next