Enhancing Vocabulary- Manias and Phobias

1. Acrophobia: Acrophobia is the fear of heights. It is coined from the Greek roots ‘akros’ meaning ‘at the end’, ‘at the top’ or ‘the tip’ combined with ‘phobos’. More words using the root ‘acro’ – acrobat,acromania, acropetal.
2. Agrophobia: Agrophobia is the fear of open spaces. The word is derived by combining the root (Greek) ‘agros’ meaning ‘open space’ with ‘phobos’ being used as a suffix. More words using the root ‘agora’ – agronome, agronomics.
3. Algophobia: Algophobia is the fear of pain. The word is obtained by the root ‘algos’ meaning ‘pain’ with the suffix ‘phobos’. The other words using the root ‘algos’ are – algogenic, algolagnia.
4. Claustrophobia: Claustrophobia is a morbid fear of closed places. The word is a combination of the Latin root ‘claud’ meaning ‘to close’ combined with ‘phobos’. More words using the root are – claustral, claustrum, cloister.
5. Gamophobia: Gamophobia is a morbid fear of being married. The word is obtained by combining the root ‘gamos’ with the suffix ‘phobos’. More words using the root are – polygamy, bigamy.
6. Ophidiophobia: Ophidiphiobia is a morbid fear of snakes and reptiles. The word is derived by combining the Greek root ‘ophites’ meaning serpentine, with the root root ‘phobos’. The other words using the root ‘ophites’ are- ophidian, ophite, ophiology.
7. Treiskaidekaphobia: It is the fear of number thirteen. It is one of the most prevalent of the phobias. The word is a combination of the Greek root ‘treiskaideka’ meaning ‘thirteen’ combined with ‘phobos’.
8. Xenophobia: Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners or strangers. It is a combination of the Greek root ‘xenos’ meaning ‘foreign or stranger’ with ‘phobos’. More words using the root ‘xenos’- xenomania, xenogamy

The roots that we have covered till this stage are- ‘phobos’ , ‘mania’, ‘acro’, ‘agro’, ‘xenos’, ‘triskaideka’, ‘algos’, ‘ophite’, ‘gamos’, ‘claustrum’ . An additional list of phobias is available for download.

1. Dipsomania: Dipsomania is an obsessive desire to drink alcohol. It is a combination of the Greek root ‘dipsa’ meaning ‘thirst’ with mania’. The other words using the root ‘dipsa’ are – dipsophobia, polydipsia.
2. Kleptomania: Kleptomania is an obsession to steal. It is derived by combining the Greek root ‘kleptes’ meaning ‘thief’ with the suffix ‘mania’. This is one of the most common of the manias. More words using the root ‘kleptes’ are- kleptophobia, kleptos.
3. Megalomania: Megalomania is being obsessed with the idea of being great. It is derived from a combination of the Greek roots ‘megas’ meaning ‘great’ and ‘mania’ meaning an obsession. More words using the root ‘megas’ are- megalopolis, megaphone.
4. Pyromania: Pyromania is an obsession with fire. A pyromaniac loves to start fires. It is a combination of the root ‘pyro’ meaning ‘fire’ combined with ‘mania’. Other words using the root ‘pyro’ are – pyromancy, pyrography.
5. Xenomania: Xenophobia is a fear of foreigners and Xenomania is an undue attraction of everything that is foreign. It is a combination of the root ‘xenos’ with the suffix ‘mania.’
6. Arithmomania: Arithmomania is an obsession with numbers. The word is a combination of the Latin root ‘arithmetica’ with the suffix ‘mania’. The other words using the root ‘arithmetica’ are- arithmetic, arithmancer, arithmancy.
7. Bibliomania: Bibliomania is being obsessed with books or reading. The word is a combination of the Greek root ‘biblion’ combined with the root ‘mania’. The other words using the root ‘biblion’ are - bibliography, bibliophile, bibliopole.
8. Opiomania: Opiomania is an excessive craving for opium or its products. The word is a derivation from the Greek root ‘opion’ meaning poppy juice. Other words using the root ‘opion’ are-

The roots that we have covered in this part are – ‘dipsa’, ‘kleptes’, ‘pyro’, ‘xenos’, ‘biblio’, ‘arithmetica’, ‘megas’ and ‘opion’. An additional list of manias is available for download.

Wondering what do the rich and the famous have to do in this article on phobias and manias? Most of us are scared or obsessed by something else or the other and so are the rich and the famous. They are not immune from the human tendency to be scared or obsessed with something. Some of them are peculiar do not even have a formal word coined for them.

The handsome tennis star André Agassi is arachnophobic, meaning scared of spiders, Alfred Hitchcock the famous film director had a fear of eggs, Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer, Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan have shared a common phobia, that is aviophobia or aerophobia, the fear of flying. Adolf Hitler was a claustrophobic and Napoleon Bonaparte, had a fear of cats, that is, ailurophobia. Chandigarh, a city in the north of India is divided into sectors which have been given numbers. There is no sector no.13, the numbers jump directly from sector 12 to 14. The city was designed by the famous French architect Le Corbusier.

A practice exercise is also available for download.