WORD FOR THE DAY: NYMPHOLEPSY

2000 Most Challenging and Obscure Words | March 15, 2016 | Norman Schur

[Louis Foxwell]

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In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".

nympholepsy [NIM fuh lep see]

hear it pronounced

noun

The ancients believed that a kind of ecstasy or frenzy took hold of a person who had caught sight of a nymph. Such a person was known as a nympholept (NIM fuh lept), in Greek, nympholeptos, (one caught by nymphs), based on nymphe (nymph) and leptos (seized).

Nympholepsy was formed of a blend of nympholept and epilepsy in the sense of "seizure."

Apart from the delightful world of nymphs, nympholepsy denotes any frenzied yearning for the unattainable, and a nympholept is a person with such a yearning, someone inspired by violent enthusiasm for an unattainable ideal.

[Louis Foxwell]

Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.

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[DannyTN]

I think I’m in favor of nympholepsy.

[mountainlion]

We have everything in this election cycle except a nympholept. If most of us ole codgers were nympholeptos we need an ambulance for cardiac arrest.

[Louis Foxwell]

We have found applicaton for nymph but it is not of necessity a reference to sexuality. Indeed there are various national characters thriving in this Silly Season who embody an insane drive for the unattainable. They are, by any measure, nympholeptics. Take courage, literacists. Here is a word for the playful and the slightly naughty. Certification of your prosey prowess will be rained down in the AM.

[uncitizen]

Lol

[spokeshave]

nympholepsy is tested with plethysmography

[EagleUSA]

“I think I’m in favor of nympholepsy.”

Yeah, I knew a couple of those in college...

[RegulatorCountry]

The narcoleptic nympholept was apoplectic.

[pa_dweller]

A lot of nympholeptics have already dropped out of contention for the presidential nomination. Only a few more to go.

[tinyowl]

Lep was my first dog. I loved that little dog, called her Lepsy. Lepsy was hit by a speeding pickup outside our family’s apartment in Philly, died in my arms. I dragged that man right out of his truck. I can still remember I was pummeling him in the face when the cops arrived. They dragged me off the man, and demanded to know what the hell I was doing. I explained that I was hit’nympholepsy.

[MaskedMan]

...I explained that I was hit’nympholepsy.

That's so bad it's hilarious - but needed that laugh in the middle of this election cycle. Hat's off to you TinyOwl.

[knarf]

Yeah ... me too

[tinyowl]

Thank you for joining in that bout of stupidity ... these days it’s the only refuge :-)

[knarf]

-You win !!!

[MaskedMan]

It was a great setup - but I think i may have woken the family with my laughing...and of course the monitor will need to be replaced with the drink I spewed all over it!

[FlyingEagle]

We have a winner!

[W.]

Ya got my attention for the first six letters of your WFTD!

[Jeff Chandler]

“That was the day the contemptible Clinton prodigalized the last shred of Presidential dignity in a frenzied fit of nocturnal nympholepsy.”

[Eagles6]

Math is hard.

[grey_whiskers]

I suffered nympholepsy when I first saw my wife.