Bolisms

What is symbolic is not parabolic or hyperbolic. The three words are similar in some ways but very different in others; 'symbolic' means 'thrown together with', while 'parabolic' means 'thrown alongside' and 'hyperbolic' means 'thrown above'. The difference between the symbolic and the parabolic is the hardest to see, but it can be likened to a darts competition in some ways.

If some equally flighted darts are thrown together at the same time, follow the same paths and land in the same small group, one of those darts can be used as a proxy for the rest; it is symbolic. If some equally flighted darts are thrown at different dartboards set up in parallel, their general direction is the same, but the exact groups are far apart. A parable is therefore a lot like a shadow which moves in concert with the original; a symbol is an image that represents other things according to convention. With both, as with hyperbole, great care is required for proper usage. Of course, a hyperbolic dart would totally miss the target and land above it.

It's a similar problem with 'catabolic', 'anabolic' and 'metabolic'. 'Catabolic' means 'thrown apart'; you might imagine a ball of little pellets scrunched together which falls apart in flight. 'Anabolic' means 'thrown into togetherness' (I would have said 'thrown together' but that might have looked too much like 'symbolic'); you might imagine a barrage of pellets which when thrown fall into a neat little lump. 'Metabolic' means 'thrown with transformation'; you might think of a magician's trick in which a ball is thrown into the air and turns into a bird.

At this point, leaving the list incomplete since the point is largely demonstrated, it has become obvious that the '-bolic' part of the word represents the verb, 'to throw'. The first part, modifying the relationship between things thrown, must be a preposition. And thus endeth an impromptu lesson in Greek.

Word of the Day: Propinquity

Propinquity is often mistaken for proximity, which just happens to be an approximate (i.e. closely-approaching) synonym. But propinquity is a lot more than that – propinquity is reserved for entities which by virtue of their physical closeness exert special influence over each other or develop other emergent properties as a consequence of association. Probably the easiest way to describe it is interactive nearness which leads to more intensive relationships.

This is applicable to groups such as army units, classes in a school, people who work on the same floor, and army units who take the same classes together and work on the same floor in the same building in the same camp.

Where does this odd-looking word come from, though?

It comes from the Latin prope- ('near') and -inquus ('having the property of residence or tenancy'). It thus literarily means, 'having the property of being a near neighbour'.

Proximity, from the superlative form of prope- (i.e. proximitas), just means 'very near' in terms of distance. It carries no other properties implying a relationship. Two non-interacting bodies can be very close; these would have proximity but not propinquity.

In modern usage, propinquity has picked up connotations that go beyond relationships in general, first implying the existence of social relationships and then narrowing this down to a sexual or possibly-sexual relationship. This sets the stage for administrators to advise officers: "Maintain proximity to clients, but beware of propinquity either real or assumed."

Perhaps the next WotD should therefore be the Greek prophylaxis.