Breaker, Breaker
Each week, my program
ends with a multiple choice vocabulary quiz, and prizes are awarded for a
correct answer. Last week’s quiz used the word biblioclast.
biblioclast:
(a) book seller (b) book
lover (c) book destroyer (d) book binder
The correct answer is
(c). The –clast word part comes from the Greek word κλάστης (klastes), a person or thing
that breaks other things, whether literally or metaphorically. Several
words use that combining form.
bioclast:
a fragment of a
shell or a fossil forming part of a sedimentary rock.
· cranioclast:
an operation in which the head of a fetus is fractured in order to facilitate a
difficult delivery.
·
crystalloclast:
a person who breaks crystals in order to study them.
·
eidoclast:
one who destroys idols.
·
hyaloclast:
a glass-breaker.
·
iconoclast:
breaker of images; one who attacks cherished beliefs.
·
lithoclast:
an instrument for breaking up bladder stones.
·
mythoclast:
a person who destroys myths.
·
pyroclast:
rock fragmented by volcanic action.
The corresponding Latin
combining form is –frage. It shows up
in words such as calculifrage (device to break up calculi), nucifrage (the
spotted nutcracker), ossifrage (bird that drops bones from a great height to shatter
them), and saxifrage (plant that roots in rock clefts).
Listen
to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:10 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by
going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen
Now. You’ll also find about a month’s worth of podcasts there under The Ron Jolly Show.
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