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Comments on: Why can't we agree on the names for phobias?

Where is the answer? 

Posted Friday 23rd June 2006 17:31 GMT

While it is interesting to realize how many names common phobias have your answer is totally inane. Instead of rambling on definitions and names this short line would have sufficed:

"Yet for reasons unknown, the mental health profession cannot agree on the term to be used for many of the most common phobias."

Latin / Greek 

Posted Saturday 24th June 2006 23:30 GMT

Most of the names can be thrown out as nasty bilingual cut/shuts, anything that starts with a latin-derived word and ends with the greek "phobia" suffix, ought to be replaced entirely with the greek equivalent, if one can be found. (Aquaphobia,Felinophobia,

Several others appear to mean something entirely different from others that you've called them synonymous to. E.g. verminophobia presumably has to do with vermin, rather than dirtyness per se. Bathophobia, meanwhile, I think ought to be fear of *depth* rather than height?

When there are multiple forms of essentially the same word (Eremiophobia, Eremophobia for example) presumably somebody who knows greek better than I would be able to give a reasonable opinion on which form would make more sense.

Perhaps the lists could be shortened somewhat by applying these filters.

I'm also entirely unimpressed by one that I see bandied around all over the place "hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" which is clearly the entirely reasonable "sesquipedalophobia" with "horse monster" prepended for no reason other to make it more "ammusing"

ho ho ho indeed.

Cheers & God bless

Sam "SammyTheSnake" Penny

Odd... 

Posted Sunday 25th June 2006 13:19 GMT

"Hydrophobia, Hydrophobophobia"

Hmmm... wouldn't 'Hydrophobophobia' be 'fear of being afraid of water'? Or 'fear of Hydrophobes'?