logomaniac
/ˌlɒɡəˈmeɪniæk/
logomaniac means one who is obsessed with words.
logomaniac is pronounced /ˌlɒɡəˈmeɪniæk/.
Why “logomaniac” is a great word
A person obsessively and excessively interested in words. From Greek logos ("word, speech, reason") and English -maniac ("one with an excessive enthusiasm or obsession"), first attested in 1870. Unlike "logophile" (which suggests an affectionate, even genteel fondness for language) or "lexicographer" (which denotes the specific, sober profession of dictionary-making), a logomaniac is consumed by a compulsion nearing madness. It is the scholar who dismantles a grocery list for its Latinate roots, the insomniac tracing the migratory path of a synonym through centuries, the collector who treasures a rare participle more than a precious stone—a mind forever haunted by the ghost in the machine of speech.
Etymology
From logo- + -maniac.
noun
- One who is obsessed with words.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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