You searched for: “cacoethes
cacoëthes, cacoethes (s) (noun); cacoëtheses, cacoetheses (pl)
1. A very bad habit, an insatiable desire, or an incurable compulsion to do something harmful: Too many people have a cacoethes for smoking.
2. In medicine, a malignant disease: The patient was told that he had a cacoethes of an incurable cancer.
A bad habit or an itch to do something wrong.
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This entry is located in the following units: caco-, cac-, kako-, kak- (page 2) etho-, eth-, ethi- (page 1)
Word Entries containing the term: “cacoethes
cacoethes carpendi
Compulsive or uncontrollable urge.

A mania for finding fault or an uncontrollable urge to nitpick (trivial, unnecessary, detailed, and often unjustified faultfinding).

This phrase is from cacoëthes carpendi which is derived from kakoethes, a Greek word that combines kakos, "bad", with ethos, "habit"; and which describes any compulsion or uncontrollable urge.

Cacoëthes can be used alone to mean "mania" or "passion", even "disease". With carpendi, a form of carpere, meaning "to pluck", as fruit from a tree, the phrase becomes highly useful in describing the uncontrollable urge to be a nitpicker.

cacoëthes carpendi, cacoethes carpendi (a Latin expression)
1. A strong passion to criticize or a mania for finding fault with others: The project's supervisor allowed his cacoëthes carpendi to get out of control and really offended people on the job site.
2. Etymology: derived from kakoethes, a Greek word that combines kakos, "bad" with ethos, "habit" and describes "any compulsion" or "uncontrollable urge".
This entry is located in the following units: caco-, cac-, kako-, kak- (page 2) carpo-, carp- (cerp-) + (page 1)
cacoëthes loquendi, cacoethes loquendi (a Latin expression)
Compulsive talking or an uncontrollable desire for excessive talking or making speeches: An example of cacoëthes loquendi is anyone who goes on talking and talking and won't stop; or who talks more and says less.
cacoëthes scribendi, cacoethes scribendi (a Latin expression)
1. An incurable compulsion, desire, or drive, to write: As an author, Karl had a case of cacoethes scribendi or an uncontrollable desire to write regardless of the quality of his compositions.
2. Etymology: the full text is, Tenet insanabile multos scribendi cacoethes.: "The incurable itch for scribbling [or writing] affects many"; as stated by Decimus Junius Juvenalis (Roman satirist), 60-140 A.D.

Actually, Juvenal wrote in his Satires, "An inveterate and incurable itch for writing besets many and grows old in their sick hearts."