Word of the Day

: August 21, 2012

dyslogistic

adjective diss-luh-JISS-tik

What It Means

: uncomplimentary

dyslogistic in Context

The blogger used many dyslogistic adjectives to express his dissatisfaction with the mayor.

"One answer lies in ... the dyslogistic school of memoir written by former officials who present themselves as disillusioned innocents." - From a book review by Jacob Heilbrunn in The New York Times, June 22, 2008

Did You Know?

Logic would lead one to believe that "dyslogistic" is somehow related to the Greek word "logos," from which the words "logic" and "logistics" are derived. In actuality, however, "dyslogistic" is a 19th-century merger of the prefix "dys-," meaning "bad," and "eulogy," referring to an expression of praise. English jurist and philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) often used "dyslogistic" in his writings as an adjective to convey dispraise or opprobrium. And even today the word is likely to be encountered in judicial and intellectual writings.