verbivore means one who has an enjoyment of words and wordplay. It carries an Arena rating of 1882, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, verbivore ranks #164 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words, #211 of 17,150 for Funniest Words, #2,305 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,301 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words.
Why “verbivore” is a great word
One who takes pleasure in the active consumption and playful use of language. From the Latin verbum (“word”) and vorax, from vorō (“devour”), patterned after herbivore and carnivore; coined in the early 1980s by Richard Lederer. Unlike a “logophile,” who simply loves words, or a “lexicographer,” who studies them with professional rigor, a verbivore actively ingests them. It is the delight in rolling a multisyllabic confection around the tongue, the collector’s thrill in snapping up a rare and gleaming synonym, or the patient dissection of an etymology to reveal its marrow—a quiet celebration of language not as a tool, but as a feast, where the mind does the chewing.
Etymology
From Latin verbum (“word”) + Latin vorax, from vorō (“devour”), on the pattern of herbivore and carnivore; coined in the early 1980s by Richard Lederer.
noun
- One who has an enjoyment of words and wordplay.
Words closest in meaning
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