rhavdophile

noun An individual who has a fascination with or an appreciation of sticks, twigs, wands, and similar pieces of wood, especially if they have unique or pleasing forms, textures, and/or colours. From the Greek root 'rhabdos/rhavdos' or 'rhabdi/rhavdi,' a stick, and '-phile,' denoting someone who has a fondness for or a love of.

Alternative spellings: ravdophile, rhavdiphile, ravdiphile. Not to be confused with 'rhabdophile' or its alternative spellings, which allude to one who has a paraphila for corporal punishment.

John was an enthusiastic rhavdophile who thoroughly enjoyed combing the local forests for bent, twisted, and weathered sticks with unusual and pleasing shapes and textures. HIs Labrador Bella was also a keen rhavdophile but her interest was as simple as any stick that she could carry in her mouth!

spyrophile

(noun) One who derives joy or pleasure from squeezing pimples, blackheads, and other sebaceous skin eruptions. From the Greek roots σπυρίς (spyris), meaning 'basket,' something hollow, or 'pimple;' and '-philia,' a love of or a fondness for.

Whilst considered repugnant by some people, spyrophilia is a pleasurable and usually harmless activity for many.

Contrast with 'dermatillomaniac,' an individual with a mental illness related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and which is characterised by repeated picking at one's own skin, resulting in areas of swollen or broken skin and causing significant disruption in one's life.

The success of Ron and Eloise's enduring friendship was due in no small part to the fact that each was a spyrophile who inordinately savoured the simple pleasure of squeezing the other's pimples and blackheads.

stegivrochophile

(noun) An individual who revels in the sound of rain on a roof. From the Greek roots 'στέγη' (stegi), meaning 'roof;' 'βροχή' (vrochi), meaning 'rain;' and '-philia,' a love of or a fondness for.

There is nothing more soothing for the stegivrochophile than to snuggle under a quilt in bed with a storm blustering outside, sipping a mug of hot chocolate and reading a good book while the rain patters on the roof above and gurgles through the gutters.

inversambisignum

Inversambisignum (noun): The ∓ symbol, commonly called the minus-or-plus sign or minus-plus sign. The name derives from Latin: inversa ("inverted" or "turned upside down"), ambi- ("both" or "on both sides"), and signum ("sign" or "symbol"), and reflects its role as the counterpart to the ± symbol (ambisignum).

Meaning and Use

1) Relationship to ± (ambisignum):

• ∓ appears with ± to denote symmetrical or complementary values in equations.
• The top sign of ± corresponds to the top sign of ∓, and the bottom sign of ± to the bottom sign of ∓.
• Example: In a ± b ∓ c:

◦ First case: a + b − c

◦ Second case: a − b + c.

2) Applications:

• Quadratic equations: Specifies dual results involving radicals.
• Physics and Engineering: Models symmetry (e.g., waveforms, alternating currents).
• Complex numbers: Describes conjugate pairs with opposite-sign components.

Why It Is Necessary

Without ∓, expressions with multiple operations could be ambiguous. Paired ± and ∓ ensure clarity by mirroring opposing effects.

Mnemonic: Think of ± as "positive then negative" and ∓ as "negative then positive," balancing dual relationships.

Note: it is tautological to refer to an 'inversambisignum sign' or an 'inversambisignum symbol' in the same way that it is tautological to refer to RAS syndrome (where RAS means 'redundant acronym syndrome')...

As a physicist Carl used the ambisignum almost daily in his writing, but it was a rare occasion indeed when his formulæ required the use of an inversambisignum.

ambisignum

The ambisignum is the ± symbol commonly referred to as the plus-or-minus sign, or the plus-minus sign. The term is derived from the Latin prefix 'ambi-,' which means "both" or "on both sides," reflecting the dual nature of the symbol (plus and minus). The Latin word 'signum' means "sign" or "symbol" and directly ties 'ambisignum' to its function as a mathematical sign.

Note that it is tautological to refer to an 'ambisignum sign' or an 'ambisignum symbol' in the same way that it is tautological to refer to RAS syndrome (where RAS means 'redundant acronym syndrome')...

Albert could never remember the keystrokes required to insert an ambisignum into his social media posts discussing mathematics, so he always resorted to copying one from a web search and pasting it into his text.

lemniscatus

Leminscatus (noun) The infinity (∞) sign. Derived from the Latin 'lēmniscātus,' meaning "decorated with ribbons", and which itself ioriginates from the Greek 'λημνίσκος' (lēmnískos), meaning "ribbon."

The lemniscatus is a figure-eight curve that resembles a group of curves in algebraic geometry collectively called lemniscates. Jacob Bernoulli first used the term 'lemniscate' in the late 17th century, based on the same Latin and Greek roots. While a 'lemniscate' refers to any algebraically defined figure-eight curve, the lemniscatus specifically symbolises the concept of infinity.

Johann knew that his brother Jake was serious about studying philosophy at university when Jake came home one day sporting a new lemniscatus tattoo on his arm.

rhavdophilia

noun A fascination with or an appreciation of sticks, twigs, wands, and similar pieces of wood, especially if they have unique or pleasing forms, textures, and/or colours. From the Greek root 'rhabdos/rhavdos' or 'rhabdi/rhavdi,' a stick, and '-philia,' denoting a fondness for or a love of.

Alternative spellings: ravdophilia, rhavdiphilia, ravdiphilia.

Combing through the accumulated driftwood on the beach, John's rhavdophilia was ignited by a contorted stick with a patterned and branched end that resembled the head and neck of a dragon.