Is "psionic" an accepted word in standard English?

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello,

As far as I know, the illustrious science-fiction editor John W. Campbell coined the term "psi" to refer to various stereotypical psychic powers, and the term "psionics" to refer to scientific study of those powers, in the mid 20th-century. An alleged "psionic" device known as the "Hieronymus Machine" was patented in 1952, and it was one of the items that intrigued Campbell before he wrote his editorials "The Science of Psionics" and "The Problem of Psionics" in two 1956 issues of Astounding Science Fiction.

Persons actually studying such phenomena often avoid the term "psionics", fraught with pulp-magazine/comic book/gaming baggage as it is, and use terms like "parapsychology", "paraphysics", "bioenergetics", and so forth. The bizarre claims, unconventional practices, suspicious results, and unseemly self-promotion of some workers in those areas don't seem to have done much good for the credibility of those terms either, though - the field on the whole seems to be taken far less seriously than even, say, cold fusion research.

Hope this helps!

 

[diaglo]

Pronouncing THAC0 is no different then someone pronouncing any other acronym such as HAZMAT or the countless military ones. It is alot easier to say "Thaco", then it is to say "To Hit Armor Class Zero".

no. it is just laziness.

i never said ThAC0. i would just say.... roll the dice. and then... you hit or you miss. or go into some description of the impact of sword and board...

 

[Dogbrain]

Yes there are. They're called onomatopoeia. For example, "to sing" is a made-up verb. "To mew" isn't, it's mimickry.

Really? There is utterly and absolutely no imagination in the coining of such terms? Fascinating! Please go tell all the linguists of the entire world that they are utterly wrong. Even these onomatopoeiae are made-up. If they were not, then they would be perfectly universal. They are not perfectly universal and vary greatly from language to language.

 

[Dogbrain]

But of what?

Of phonemes. Contrary to the opinions of those who have never studied linguistics, words need not be made up from specific and previously extant morphemes.

 

[aurance]

Really? There is utterly and absolutely no imagination in the coining of such terms? Fascinating! Please go tell all the linguists of the entire world that they are utterly wrong. Even these onomatopoeiae are made-up. If they were not, then they would be perfectly universal. They are not perfectly universal and vary greatly from language to language.

Have you ever made a point without being condescending?

 

[Davelozzi]

The word [psionics] is also in the OED. The OED lists its first usage in 1952 in Astounding Science Fiction.

It must be a fairly recent addition, it's not in my 1996 OEED (Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary), though psi is (definition very similar to the one quote earlier).

Teleport is in there, but rather than implying disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, it's defined as "move by telekinesis".

Also, on the way to teleport, I came across thaumaturge and rather than a demon summoner, it's defined as " a worker of miracles; a wonder-worker."

Interesting thread.

 

[Brian Chalian]

i love Snafu and Fubar myself. but i won't translate for Eric's Grandma's sake

Pish tosh man, she's heard those words before! Also, you missed TARFU, an intermediate state.

Situation Normal: All Fouled Up
Things Are Really Fouled Up
Fouled Up Beyond All Repair

 

[Krieg]

They're still made up.

Exactly.

Of phonemes. Contrary to the opinions of those who have never studied linguistics, words need not be made up from specific and previously extant morphemes.

A sense of humor is a wonderful thing.

 

[ledded]

Would anyone who happens to be cracking their various tomes like to give us their particular book's definition of the proper pronunciation of the word 'psionic'?


(Asked for because there is a certain friend I'd like to point this thread to)

 

[Ashwyn]

But of what?

Sounds and letters. Nature made the sounds and we made the letters. Well, nature made the letters too, really, since we are a part of it.