Those who have read these mutterings for more than a short time know that I have a somewhat lustful fascination with the language, especially the words that we shove together in random and chaotic ways to constitute our sometimes bizarre English language. If there had been a lucrative job market awaiting me, I might have chosen to forego life as an engineer to pursue an exciting career as an etymologist. That sounds somewhat similar but differs in spelling from entomologist, a dude who gets off studying bugs. As a kid, I did that too, having one of the largest insect collections known to exist on my block.

My fascination with words spills ink on these pages in several ways, not the least of which is the category of Weird Words, which can be found somewhere down there in the sidebar. When I encounter a word that is new or only vaguely familiar, out comes my original model palm device, the trusty 3×5 card and Pentel mechanical pencil. There the words reside, etched in graphite on bleached papyrus, until I find time to check them out. There is one blog that has a sidebar that gets me all excited and sweaty (not what you’re thinking…). Jeremy Freese has a list that he calls enunciation candy — some of his favorite words to hear or say. I would be envious of Jeremy, but he is a Harvard professor, fer gawd’s sake. As such, in keeping with the natural order of things, it is more appropriate that I, a mere mortal, cower in awe and admiration than to covet or emulate. I would wager yesterday’s PBJ from my leftover lunch bag that Jeremy even knows how and when to use every one of those words. But I digress… Go read Jeremy’s weblog - he is a hoot…

So yester morning I’m sitting here in BlogCentral, sipping the java, prying the eyelids from their nocturnal down and closed position, minding my own business and reading the morning updates to your several thousand blogs. Without warning, the Weird Word klaxon sounded, my eyelids popped open, the slouch let go of my back, I leaned into the monitor and stared at the word in front of me — one that had never passed this way before.

entelechy

Aha! A quick check found that Jeremy didn’t have this one on his list. Grab another cup o joe and get to work. Dictionary.com sez:

en·tel·e·chy /ɛnˈtɛləki/ - [en-tel-uh-kee] –noun, plural -chies.

[Origin: 1595–1605; < LL entelechīa < Gk entelécheia, equiv. to en- en-² + tél(os) goal + éch(ein) to have + -eia -y³]

—Related forms

en·te·lech·i·al /ˌɛntəˈlɛkiəl/ [en-tuh-lek-ee-uhl] - adjective

Also shown there is the American Heritage Dictionary definition:

en·tel·e·chy (ěn-těl’ĭ-kē) n. pl. en·tel·e·chies

1. In the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized; actuality.
2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.

Damn! This is good stuff! Aristotle, yet. Wonder if Jackie knew about this. Jeremy, go sit in Harvard Square and contemplate self-actualization and the Aristotelian order of things. May the force be with you in all that you do…

For anyone still awake and wondering what dark alley I explored to find this word, it was at a blog of Alaskan origin, named of course, entelechy. One of the tag lines under the blog title is :: an expression of unity ::, which is certainly something we could use more of these days. Go check it out. And don’t forget to pay a visit to Jeremy. Tell him Winston said Hey…

[Hat tip to amba for the link to Maria at entelechy.]