-holism

-holism

:"Distinguish from the word holism, which describes properties of systems."In contemporary modern English "-holic" is a suffix that can be added to a subject to denote an addiction to it. The term is derived from alcoholism, one of the first addictions to be widely identified both medically and socially.

It should be noted that the word "alcoholism" is broken up into the root, "alcohol", and the suffix "-ism", not "alco" and "-holism". The suffix "-holism" is truly a new invention, having taken the syllable "hol" directly from the root word. The morphemic breakdown of the word "alcohol" is actually from Arabic "al", meaning "the" and "kuhul" meaning "paint". [ [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=alcohol&searchmode=none Online Etymology Dictionary : alcohol] ]

:(Another example of false splitting of a compound word is splitting 'helicopter' (correctly etymologically 'helico-pter' = "turning wing") into 'heli + copter', from which came 'heliport' and 'jetcopter [ [http://airstarintl.com/turbine.html jetcopter] ] '.)

The term "-holism" is not an accepted medical term, but is a fairly prominent neologism. As such, despite its widespread usage, it lacks a formal definition. The term can be used in many ways ranging from describing a physical or psychological dependency to something (ex. sexaholism [ [http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?AuthorID=1367&id=16843 Sexaholism: The Closet Addiction (article) by Niki Collins-Queen on AuthorsDen:January 29, 2005] ] [ [http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a742021601~db=all~jumptype=rss Sexaholism: A Perspective - Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention:(Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, Volume 13, Issue 1 January 2006 , pages 69 - 94)] ] ), to a tendency to do something obsessively (ex. workaholism [ [http://www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/wrkholic.htm] (blank page?)] , shopaholism [ [http://web.mit.edu/cultureshock/fa2003/essays/prachi.html Culture Shock:Shopaholism (by Prachi Thanawala}] ] ). "-Holism" can also be used by someone to express a strong passion for or interest in something. For example, professional wrestler Chris Jericho would refer to his fans as Jerichoholics [ [http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/celebrityduets WWE: Inside WWE > News > Archive > Chris Jericho to rock Celebrity Duets:By: Jen Hunt Written: August 23, 2006] ] .

References


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  • holism — HOLÍSM s.n. (Filoz.) Concepţie care interpretează teza ireductibilităţii întregului la suma părţilor sale, socotind drept factor integrator al lumii un principiu imaterial şi incognoscibil. – Din fr. holisme. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa:… …   Dicționar Român

  • holism — 1926, apparently by S.African Gen. J.C. Smuts (1870 1950) in his book Holism and Evolution which treats of evolution as a process of unification of separate parts; see HOLISTIC (Cf. holistic) + ISM (Cf. ism) …   Etymology dictionary

  • holism — [hō′liz΄əm] n. [ HOL(O) + ISM] the view that an organic or integrated whole has an independent reality which cannot be understood simply through an understanding of its parts holist n …   English World dictionary

  • Holism — Distinguish from the suffix holism, which describes addictions. Holism (from gr. ὅλος holos , a Greek word meaning all , entire , total ) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental,… …   Wikipedia

  • Holism — Holisme Holisme est la francisation de holism, un néologisme forgé en 1926 par l homme d État sud africain Jan Christiaan Smuts pour son ouvrage Holism and Evolution[1]. La première définition historique du holisme est : « the tendency… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • holism — holist, n. /hoh liz euhm/, n. Philos. 1. the theory that whole entities, as fundamental components of reality, have an existence other than as the mere sum of their parts. Cf. organicism (def. 1). 2. Also, holiatry. Med. care of the entire… …   Universalium

  • holism — Any doctrine emphasizing the priority of a whole over its parts. In the philosophy of language, this becomes the claim that the meaning of an individual word or sentence can only be understood in terms of its relations to an indefinitely larger… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Holism — the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its constituent parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave. The general principle of holism is …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • HOLISM —    a term used by General Jan SMUTS in his book Holism and Evolution (1926) to express his BELIEF in emergent EVOLUTION. The idea comes from IDEALIST PHILOSOPHY and expresses the notion of wholeness. In recent years it has become a buzz word in… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • holism — [[t]ho͟ʊlɪzəm[/t]] N UNCOUNT Holism is the belief that everything in nature is connected in some way. [FORMAL] …   English dictionary

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