duodenonagesimus

Doctor Glover omnibus discipulis magistrisque salutem dicit.

Many of you no doubt woke up this morning, as I did, eager to read yesterday's Latin Word of the Day, only to find that there was none in your Inbox. With the kind permission of Christina, I have therefore filled in to ensure that, in the LVD calendar, August 16^th avoids the ignominious distinction of being henceforth written in black letters. And so, without further ado...

xylospongium, xylospongii n.

Definition: a stick with a sponge attached used for the same purpose as modern toilet-paper.

Sententia: Ut camēlopardalem ad venditiōnem parārent, ad ānum animālis altī mundandum xylospongiō Cornēliī ūsī sunt.

In order to prepare the giraffe for sale, the Cornelii used a stick-sponge to clean the tall animal's bum.

The word derives from Greek, where it is a compound of the word for wood (ξύλον, xylon) and sponge (σπόγγιον, spongion, dim. of σπόγγος, spongos sponge note that in Greek the double consonant γγ is pronounced ng). In our Latin sources, the word's usage is highly restricted. In fact, I find only two Latin instances of it, both in inscriptions. For example: "S/he didn't care for me more than for a xylospongium." Amusing, but not very illuminating. In Greek, on the other hand, the word occurs in a veterinary work entitled Hippiatrica ( < hippos horse + iatros doctor). Our word, then, is at least a piece of veterinary terminology, and doubtless applicable, in both languages, to human contexts as well.

Note: if you're not careful to remember the macron in ānum, you might incorrectly translate here "the Cornelii used a stick-sponge to clean the tall animal's old lady." I seriously doubt whether this notional old lady would appreciate such a gross insult to her physical person.