Tuesday, January 17, 2006
A dearth of hyperpurr, but not hyperpure
You might imagine that hyperpurr owes its origin to hypertext, without which you would not be reading Catymology. In reality, the word comes from the common SF word hyperspace. A hyperpurr is more than a really big purr. To hyperpurr is to purr at the speed of light.
It’s a good day for catymology when I’ve dreamed up a new word, and I hereby lay claim to hyperpurr, even if the coinage is not hyperpure.
tags: etymology cats
# posted by Aloysius @ 5:08 PM 
2 Old Comments:
That is a very interesting term! I suppose purring at the speed of light would be impossible to detect by ear. How can we know if we are hyperpurring?
By 
, at
3:43 PM
That is a very good question, and one that I hadn't considered. Perhaps the answer can be found in T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats." In the same way that each cat knows his or her secret name, we know when we have gone into hyperpurr!
