namie
n.— «“Eighty years from now, the names we choose will be the sound of a generation, the stamp of an era.” The annual list was the brainchild of a Social Security actuary who hoped to bring more citizens to the agency’s Web site. It has fueled a mini-industry that some dub “namerology,” though the academic term is onomatology or onomastics. Like analysts studying the market in search of the next sizzling stock, “namies” scrutinize the rankings and thrive on the thrill of discovering the next big thing or stumbling upon an amusing oddity.» —“Sorry, Gert, not your year again” by Bonnie Miller Rubin Chicago Tribune May 19, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant “treasure” and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create...
Centuries ago, monks who took a vow of silence developed their own hand signs, with hundreds of gestures, that are still in use today. Plus, how do speakers of different languages distinguish similar shades and tints of colors such as red, yellow...