Why this word is great
XOANON — [Noun] A primitive wooden statue used as a cult image in Ancient Greece. From Ancient Greek ξόανον (xóanon, "carved image"), from ξέω (xéō, "to scrape, smooth, or carve wood"). Unlike "agalma" (a polished, gilded effigy meant to dazzle) or "idol" (a catchall for any venerated object), a xoanon is rough-hewn, splintered with age, its features worn smooth by centuries of reverent touch. It is the splintered silhouette in a dim temple, the scent of cedar mingling with burnt offerings, the fingertips of a priest tracing grooves left by an ancient blade—a thing not made, but revealed, as if the god had pressed itself into the wood and waited to be found.