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Today's Word "Nephelococcygia"

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Nephelococcygia \ne-feh-leh-kak-SI-je-yeh\ (noun) - 1 : (Literally, "Cloudcuckoosville") Interpreting the shapes of clouds. 2 : La-la land, a dream land cut off from reality.

"Harold's boss told him that he was engaging in more than a bit of Nephelococcygia after he asked for such a large raise in spite of his division's poor performance."

 

Greek nephelekokkygia from nephele "cloud" + kokkyx "cuckoo." "Nephele" derives from *nebh- found with the same suffix, -l, in Latin nebula "cloud" and German Nebel "mist, fog." Russian nebo "sky" derives from the same source. Nasalized, this root emerges in Latin nimbus "rain, cloud." "Cuckoo" and Greek "kokkyx" are onomatopoetic (imitative) creations unrelated except through the fact that all cuckoos sing the same song.


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