Don’t Be Afraid
Be Word Wise
It seems that ‘phobia’ words are everywhere. Perhaps we’re all really, really afraid. Or it could be that we’re using ‘phobia’ indiscriminately, when we really mean something else.
What does ‘phobia’ mean?
The word comes from the Greek word phobos, meaning ‘fear’, ‘panic’ or ‘terror’.
Clearly, there are some well documented clinical ‘phobias’; others are less severe fears. They are, though, about being afraid, to a greater or lesser degree.
Some examples:
Acrophobia – fear of heights
Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces or crowds
Glossophobia – fear of public speaking
Hemophobia – fear of blood
Aquaphobia – fear of water
Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
Aviophobia – fear of flying
Claustrophobia – fear of confined spaces.
An unusual one is ‘triskaidekaphobia’, which is a fear of the number thirteen.
I once knew someone who had ‘pteronophobia’, and who shuddered and went pale whenever he encountered feathers.
One of my favourites, because it’s so specific and surprising, is ‘arachibutyrophobia’. I’m not sure it’s a real thing, but it’s the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
When it’s really not about fear
There are cases when ‘phobia’ words are used to describe something else – usually prejudice, distaste or even hatred.
Just a few common examples are ‘xenophobia’, ‘homophobia’, ‘islamophobia’ and ‘transphobia’.
In most cases, these words have very little to do with fear.
There is a prefix that suggests hatred or dislike of something.
It is ‘miso’ and it comes from the Greek noun misos, meaning ‘hatred’, and the verb misein, which means ‘to hate’.
It appears in English words that have been around for a long time; some are more familiar than others.
A few examples are:
Misanthropy* – hatred or distrust of humankind
Misogyny – a hatred of, or contempt for, women
Misandry – a hatred of, or contempt for, men
Misogamy – an aversion to marriage
Misopedia – hatred or dislike of children
Misarchy* – hatred of government or authority.
* Note: In these words, the ‘o’ is left out because of the vowel that follows.
In other words, the prefix ‘mis’ means ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’, as in ‘misunderstanding’, ‘mistreatment’ or ‘misbehaviour’.
A modern variation is to add the suffix ‘misia’ (from the same Greek words) to indicate hatred or contempt.
Rather than calling them phobias, maybe we should be talking about ‘xenomisia’, ‘homomisia’, ‘islamomisia’ and ‘transmisia’ and at least be straightforward about hatred and prejudice.