4 ms·
Mendacracy does have a funny feel because there's an "a" where my brain wants to see an "o" instead. Most of the Greek prefixes had an "o" e.g., aristos. Can an
by hodgesrm 4y ago
Mendacracy does have a funny feel because there's an "a" where my brain wants to see an "o" instead. Most of the Greek prefixes had an "o" e.g., aristos. Can anyone think of a counter-example?
- thaumasiotes 4y ago> Most of the Greek prefixes had an "o" e.g., aristos Most Greek prefixes don't have an o. Instead, the o is used to connect the consonant at the end of the prefix to the consonant at the beginning of the root. Where the prefix ends in a vowel, that vowel is used directly. Compare anabasis, catabasis, analyze, paralyze, metamorphosis, polygon, etc etc etc. None of this works here, because "mendax" is not a Greek word. (Which doesn't help "mendacracy" - the epenthetic vowel in Latin is i.) The Greek word for liar is ψεύστης pseustes; you probably want pseustocracy ("rule by liars") or perhaps pseudocracy ("rule by lies", but seems more likely to be interpreted as "false rule"). It's not clear where the rest of the root of "mendax" is supposed to have gone in "mendacracy"; if you really wanted to jam it onto the -crat ending, you should end up with "mendacicrat".