triskaidekaphobe · noun — someone who suffers from triskaidekaphobia. It carries an Arena rating of 1285, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, triskaidekaphobe ranks #3,190 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,744 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #4,242 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #5,013 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “triskaidekaphobe” is a great word
A person afflicted with an irrational dread of the number thirteen. From the Greek triskaideka- ("thirteen") and -phobe ("one who fears"). Unlike the merely "superstitious" (who navigate a world of general omens and luck) or the "paraskavedekatriaphobe" (who dreads the specific confluence of Friday and thirteen), the triskaidekaphobe finds terror in the integer alone. It is the skipped floor in an elevator, the quiet panic upon counting thirteen guests, the meticulous recalculation of sums to avoid a total that feels like a verdict—a life governed by the arithmetic of anxiety, where a mere quantity becomes a cavity in the world.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From triskaideka- (“thirteen”) + -phobe.
noun
- Someone who suffers from triskaidekaphobia.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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