logomachy

English

WOTD – 11 October 2008

Etymology

From the Latin logomachia, from the Ancient Greek λογομαχία (logomakhía).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ləʊˈɡɒ.mə.kɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /loʊˈɡɑ.mə.ki/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

logomachy (plural logomachies)

1. Dispute over the meaning of words
2. A conflict waged only as a battle of words
   • 1911, G. K. Chesterton, “The Secret Garden”, in The Innocence of Father Brown:

     He was left over the coffee with Brayne, the hoary Yankee who believed in all religions, and Valentin, the grizzled Frenchman who believed in none. They could argue with each other, but neither could appeal to him. After a time this “progressive” logomachy had reached a crisis of tedium; Lord Galloway got up also and sought the drawing-room.

Synonyms

• (conflict using only words): war of words

Translations

dispute over the meaning of words

• Polish: logomachia (pl) f, logomachie f pl
• Serbo-Croatian: логомахија (logomahija)

conflict waged only as a battle of words

• Bulgarian: словесен спор m (slovesen spor)
• Finnish: sanaharkka (fi), sanasota (fi)
• Norwegian: ordduell m
• Serbo-Croatian: логомахија f (logomahija)