Latin for one who doesn't believe in unicorns?

Question

What word could we use to describe someone who doesn't believe in unicorns? Ideally, looking for a (newly made or existing) Latin-based word.

cmw · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-11 15:15:54Z

6

amonocerista

a- is the alpha privative, which denotes absence.

μονόκερως (monokeros) is the Greek word for unicorn.

For the ending, the Greeks use -ιστης (like in οἰκιστής), which in Latin is ista.

In English, the word could be simply "amonocerist."

answered Dec 11, 2017 at 15:15

cmw♦

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3

Do you know of any examples of alpha privative being used to mean "doesn't believe in X"?
– brianpck
Dec 11, 2017 at 15:24
3

@brianpck You mean besides atheos?
– cmw ♦
Dec 11, 2017 at 16:53
1

Can you add that explanation to the answer itself? Explicit comparison with "atheist" and other attested derivations would make the case stronger. As it stands, it's all too easy to parse it as @brianpck and I did.
– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦
Dec 11, 2017 at 18:04
1

@brianpck The OP never asked for Classical Latin. I assumed, since they mentioned modern coinages, that Neo-Latin, which used and still uses the suffix in abundance [proof], suffices.
– cmw ♦
Dec 12, 2017 at 1:00
1

I also don't think we can take from atheos and make amonoceros, since in Classical Greek atheos is less "atheist" and more "godless." It made better sense in a pre-Christian religious context where "belief" isn't a talking point.
– cmw ♦
Dec 12, 2017 at 1:01

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