206
rUO/fA
Down through the years, logologlsts have sought the elusive word attaining one
of the many goals of verbal perfection: displaying all six of the vowels (A, E, I,
0, U, and Y) in precisely the reverse of their alphabetical order. Until recently,
the problem remained unsolved, except for a coined word of inferior quality­
BY·QUODLIBETAL, defined as "quodlibetal, or purely academic, in a derived
or accidental manner." It had also been noted that the word PYRRHULOXIA,
the name of a cardinaliike grosbeak, had all of the desired vowels except the E,
in proper order.
Eventually, the problem was turned over to Mr. Alan L. Wachtel of New
Haven, Connecticut, a student at Yale University. Some research on his part
solved the problem. Mr. Wachtel's report to us, in its unexpurgated form,
follows:
"JULOIDEA, a superfamily of millipedes, and JULIDAE, a family wiLhin it,
are named according to zoological convention (most recently defined in the 1961
International Code of Zoological Nomenclatw'e) by adding "-aidea" and "·idae"
to the stem of the type-genus, JULUS, named by Linnaeus in 1758. IULOIDEA
and IULIDAE are synonyms for them, formed from IULUS, a term first used
by J. c. Fabricius in 1775 to denote the same genus. All six words are in use
today, and all six appear in Webster's Second Edition.
"Now, there is yet a third synonym of JULUS and IULUS. This is YULUS,
which according to both the Nomenclator Zoologicus by Sheffield Airey Neave
(The Zoological Society of London, 1940) and the Index Animal£um of C. Davies
Sherborn (Sectio Secunda, London, Trustees of the British Museum, 1930) was
used by Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz, a French naturalist, in 1775, for exactly the same
genus. The term appears in Buc'hoz's-- Dictionnaire Veten:naire, Volume VI, page
328, of which the Yale library has no copy. It fulfills all the Code's requirements
for publication, precision, and latinization, but is unacceptable through becom­
ing obsolete by not being used for the past fifty years. Nonetheless, both by
analogy to JULOIDEA and IULOIDEA and by the stated rule, it cannot be
denied that an obsolete name for the superfamily in question must be
YU La IDEA.
"But how is this logological marvel to be pronounced? Is the Y a vowel or a
consonant? All three names for the genus are derived from the Latin "iulus,"
WORD WAYS
pronounced "~iilus," mear
"ioulos." In Latin, the la
used only as a transliterat
(iota) does, however, occu:
for such a use both initial
tion on which to base an1
ing to Thomas Cole, a Y;
"
is "U!us," thougI1 "v-l
lU us
language, French, is poss
un-Latin. \Ve must settle
possibility that it is a va'
"Anyway, there is anot]
partridge-like South Ame
times called CRYPTURJ
URUS), the sole men:
CRYPTURI or CRYPTl
superfamily contains onl
superfamily, and no bire
too) does so. But it the
cIature that the only pm
CRYPTUROIDEA.
"Success at last-I haY
Congratulations, Mr.
that of treating the lette
it correctly in the schem
that matter, would any
escalated problem?
A consistent number i
of characters equal to
consistent number, th~
4 letters.
Mr. Rudolph W. C
the fact that the nUl
national Morse Code,
F
Are there any paralJl
FIFTEEN?
YUOIEA
YUOIEA
:lusive word attaining- one
six of the vowels (A, E, I,
ical order. Until recently,
vord of inferior quality­
Iy academic, in a derived
word PYRRHULOXIA,
ired vowels except the E,
Ian L. Wachtel of New
me research on his part
its unexpurgated form,
~AE, a family within it,
'fitly defined in the 1961
ing "-oidea" and "-idae"
:us in 1758. IULOIDEA
JLUS, a term first used
Ul six words are in use
207
pronounced "imus," meaning "catkin," in turn a borrowing from the Greek
"ioulos." In Latin, the language of all biological nomenclature, Y is properly
used only as a transliteration of the Greek upsilon; the incorrect use of Y for I
(iota) does, however, occur in later Latin. Unfortunately, there is no precedent
for SUdl a use both initially and before a vowel, so that there is no firm founda·
tion on which to base any suggestion for the pronunciation of YULUS. Accord­
ing to Thomas Cole, a Yale professor of classics, the more likely pronunciation
is "iilus," though "i'ulus" is a possibilitt, too. No recourse to Buc'hoz's native
language, French, is possible, because the construction is as un-French as it is
un-Latin. We must settle here for a probability that Y is a consonant and a
possibility that it is a vowel.
"Anyway, there is another such word that avoids this difficulty. The tinamous,
partridge-like South American birds, belong to the family TINAMIDAE, some­
times called CRYPTURIDAE (after the two genera TINAMUS and CRYPT­
URUS), the sole member of the order TINAMIFORMES, also called
CRYPTURI or CRYPTURIFORMES (see Webster's Second Edition). Since the
superfamily contains only one family, it would be superfluous to name that
superfamily, and no bird book I can find (Yale has an Ornithological Library,
too) does so. But it therefore follows indisputably from the rules of nomen­
clature that the only possible names would be TINAMOIDEA and its synonym
CRYPTUROIDEA.
"Success at last-l have found the 6-vowel analogne to UNORIENTAL!"
Congratulations, Mr. Wachtel! Would you care to tackle the next problem,
that of treating the letter vV as a seventh vowel, and finding a word that inserts
it correctly in the scheme of reversed vowels, somewhere between Y and U? For
that matter, would any reader of WORD WAYS like to try his hand at ttle
escalated problem?
'" '" '"
CONSISTENT NUMBERS
JLUS. This is YULUS,
y Sheffield Airey Neave
4nimalium of C. Davies
ish Museum, 1930) was
75, for exactly the same
rwire, Volume VI, page
le Code's requirements
ptable through becomNonetheless, both by
ted rule, it cannot be
n question must be
Is the Y a vowel or a
lm the Latin "iulus,"
A consistent number is one the name of whidl is represented with a number
of characters equal to the number in question. In English, there is only one
consistent number, the number 4, the name of which, FOUR, is speUed with
4 letters.
Mr. Rudolph W. Castown, of Manhattan, New York, calls our attention to
the fact that the number 15 is a uniquely consistent number in the Inter­
national Morse Code, being represented by fifteen dots and dashes, thus:
F
I
F
T
E
E
N
Are there any parallels or analogues to the strange cases of FOUR and of
FIFTEEN?
THE JOURNAL OF RECREATIONAL LINGUISTICS