Urning
n.— «Karl Ulrichs was a civil servant in the small city-state of Hanover…As early as 1862 he had coined the word “Urning” to describe a male sexually attracted to other males, which he believed derived from a kind of intersexuality in some brains. The English translation is “Uranian.” This term&mash;based on a myth in Plato’s “Sym posium” that referred to a god dess of men who love men—was picked up and used throughout Europe and England.» —“The love that dared to speak its name” by Leslie Feinberg Workers World (New York City) June 10, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A flashlight emits a steady beam of light. So what’s the flash part of that word about? Also, if you’re a nervous Nellie, you’re skittish and indecisive—both characteristics of an American politician who earned that nickname in the...
Sigrin writes from Albany, New York, that she misheard our earlier conversation about the expression shaving yak hair meaning “performing a monotonous, tedious task.” At first she thought we said shaving gnat hair, which she figures is...