Love of Words

As part of my usual stream of consciousness on Wordie, I made a simple comment on this term. Someone took it too far, with hilarious, if linguistical adult, results.

Words: Epicaricacy

As evidenced by the Wordie 100 list, the S-Word is quite popular, and as Uselessness says, never use it in my presence. I don't understand it. Looking at that list, I'm not sure why #16 "Love" is so popular as a word, as a concept it's fine. I have similar dislike of #20 Zeitgeist. Why?

Is it the sound? Is it the concept? Is it the forces of the internet conspiring against me? I had a conversation where I asked, "Why do you repeatedly do that? It annoys me", to which my colleague responded, "That's why I do it, I like the annoyed look you get on your face". Perhaps the internet is similar. The concept is not alien, it goes back at least to the Greeks, who have a similar word.

Epicaricacy, Wordie Link, is defined as "the act of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others". We can look deeper into the meaning of this word, by examining the excellent discussion on WordCraft. In that discussion, Kalleh provides the Greek roots "epi (upon) + chara (joy) + kakon (evil)"

So there is a perfectly legitimate English word to describe a concept not unique to the Germans, we can banish the S-Word forever, possibly confining those who use it to dark prison and live forever in an Epicaricistic paradise.