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neophilia: msg#00029

culture.language.word-of-the-day

Subject: neophilia

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The Word of the Day for June 30 is:

neophilia \nee-uh-FILL-ee-uh\ noun
: love of or enthusiasm for what is new or novel

Example sentence:
The home entertainment industry indulges the neophilia of
its customers with a steady line of new products, each with more
flashy automated features than the one before.

Did you know?
The early form of "neophilia," "neophily," was first found
in print in 1932, appropriately enough, describing an interest
in new terminology. It wasn't until about 1947, however, that
it began appearing in its present form, as a combination of the
Greek-derived combining forms "neo-," meaning "new," and "-
philia," meaning "liking for." The opposite of "neophilia"
is "neophobia," meaning "a dread of or aversion to novelty." It
has been around even longer than "neophilia," having first
appeared in 1886.






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