Entry: catachresis (n.)
In context: "This has got to be a mispronunciation or catachresis on R.v.C's part, since Clonidine -- 2-(2,6-Dichloroanilino)-2imidazoline -- is a decidedly adult-strength anti-hypertensive; the infant'd have to be N.F.L.-sized to tolerate it."
Definition: Improper use of words; application of a term to a thing which it does not properly denote; abuse or perversion of a trope or metaphor.
Other: I wish I had learned more than 2 classes worth of Greek, so I could make more sense of the etymology, which seems really interesting:
Etymology: < Latin catachrēsis, < Greek κατάχρησις misuse (of a word), < καταχρῆσθαι to misuse, < κατά with sense of perversion + χρῆσθαι to use.
SNOOT score: 4
Page: 1053
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
Definitive Jest is a vocabulary-building and SNOOT-approved word-of-the-day blog centered around David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.
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