OID

Wild Word Friday!

To be perfectly honest, OID is not a word. It’s actually a syllable, and  it comes to us from the Greek suffix -oeides, which is used to indicate a form or a shape. In other words, OID indicates that something is like something else. That’s exactly how we use this suffix in English, too.  A humanOID is something that’s not exactly human, but resembling a human. I can come up with a few more OID words – andrOID, cellulOID and anthropOID – but let’s get creative. The use of OID as a suffix opens a world of possibilities  in the realm of creative vocabulary!

During a boring conversation, I might be politOID, not exactly polite, but exhibiting behavior that resembles politeness. If I’m trying not to hurt my friend’s feelings when I comment on her hideous new hat, I give her a complimOID. Almost a compliment. While my athletically gifted family plays beach volleyball, I – alas, always the klutz – am playing beach volleybOID.

Do you have any -OID words to share with us?

Blessings,

Sue

(Some information drawn from Webster’s New World Dictionary. Photograph from Wikipedia. )