| batrachomyomachy \bae-treh-keh-mI-OM-eh-ki\ (noun) - A fight over nothing; a storm in a teacup.
"The noise from upstairs suggests that the children have started a new batrachomyomachy."
The Greek word means "The Battle of Frogs and Mice." It is the title of a mock-heroic epic poem that recounts a tiny struggle around a small pond using overblown terms that recall the siege of Troy. Originally attributed to Homer, it probably dates from the fifth century BC and contains batrachos "frog," mus "mouse," and "machia" fighting. Batrachos gives us "batrachian," pertaining to a frog or toad and "batrachophagous," a synonym for a previous Word of the Day, "ranivorous." Mus, via Latin, gives us "murine," pertaining to mice; Latin musculus "little mouse" gives us "muscle," presumably a reference to the rippling of a powerful forearm. Finally, Greek machia comes from Proto-Indo-European *magh, meaning "power," which has also given us "mighty," "machine," "magic," "magus" and "dismay." |
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