Comments on: A truly divine suffix: -mancy

By: Etymology vs. Entomology : Notes from a Linguistic Mystic

Etymology vs. Entomology : Notes from a Linguistic Mystic — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 01:17:45 +0000

[…] is a really fascinating area. I’ve posted many times about different word origins (here, here and here, to start), and I’ll likely continue to do so, as they’re usually pretty […]

By: Glen

Glen — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:44:24 +0000

Scapulomancy!

I wonder if -mancy is cognate to Latin mens or mentis : mind, thought, intention, intellect?

Awesome site!

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 31 May 2007 15:38:23 +0000

-mancy is also being hijacked for use in games and stories dealing with magic in general. For example, a webcomic about a fantasy boardgame world: Erfworld has created the words “Stuffamancy” and “Lookamancy” and many others implying not divination, but simply “magic dealing with X”.

In fantasy role playing -mancy half the time is used correctly because it is using historical words, but in new formations it tends to have the “magic dealing with-” meaning instead.

By: will

will — Wed, 23 May 2007 05:16:07 +0000

That’s actually kinda cool, in my opinion. Lots of people are aware of how they’re used, but very few recognize them as such.

I’m sorry you have to deal with it, though. I’m having trouble imagining teaching it to Third Graders, that must be an interesting curriculum.

Thanks for the interesting comment!

By: Damien Riley

Damien Riley — Wed, 23 May 2007 04:53:33 +0000

Derivational suffixes are taught in 3rd grade with accordance to the California Department of Education Content Standards for English Language Arts. It’s a tough concept to teach them, but they get it after much review. hard to believe such a concept is required teaching at that level. (I teach 3rd grade)