Erin's Wonderful Word--admit

[Jonathan Lighter]

The relevant OED exx. all have "dys-," and all are from the 1870s and '80s.  BTW, the OED definition includes the phrase, "denial of ' final causes.' "

JL

sagehen <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: sagehen
Subject: Re: Erin's Wonderful Word--admit
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>Did anyone else find the use of the verb "admit" in this definition just a
>little bit, well, presuppositional (which is not the same thing as
>pre-suppository)?
>
> Erin's Weird and Wonderful Word of the Day:
>
> dysteleology
> [dis-tell-ee-AH-luh-djee]
> the study of the organs of plants and animals without admitting that there
>is any purpose to their design. The antonym is teleology, studying things with
>the idea that there is a purpose for everything in nature. Someone who is
>unwilling to admit the existence of design in nature has teleophobia.
~~~~~~~~~
Looking again at this, it occurs to me that to fit this definition,*dis*
might be a more appropriate prefix than *dys*.
A. Murie

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