WordDaily - Horripilation
hôˌripəˈlāSHən
NOUN
The erection of hairs on the skin due to cold, fear, or excitement.
|
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
“I’m not scared to ride the roller coaster, but the horripilation on my arms is from excitement.”
“It was so cold while we were camping, we all had horripilation through the entire night.”
“I break out into horripilation anytime I watch a scary movie.”
WORD ORIGIN
Latin, mid-17th century
WHY THIS WORD?
You might experience horripilation while watching a horror movie, because the shared root words give a hint to the meaning of the sensation. “Horripilation” is an old-fashioned term for when the fine hair on the skin is raised when experiencing cold, fear, or excitement — also known as goosebumps. In Latin, “horrere” means “stand on end” and “pilus” means “hair,” so it’s a fairly literal translation. “Horror” comes from another variation of the Latin “horrere,” meaning “to tremble or shudder.”
|