释义 |
drogulus|ˈdrɒgjʊləs| [Coined ‘on the spur of the moment’ by A. J. Ayer perh. by subconscious association with dragon + L. -ulus as in dracunculus.] An entity whose presence is unverifiable, because it has no physical effects. Also transf.
1957A. J. Ayer in Edwards & Pap Mod. Introd. Philos. 608 Suppose I say ‘There's a ‘drogulus’ over there,’ and you say ‘What?’ and I say ‘Drogulus,’ and you say ‘What's a drogulus?’ Well I say ‘I can't describe what a drogulus is, because it's not the sort of thing you can see or touch, it has no physical effects of any kind, but it's a disembodied being.’ 1959L. S. Penrose in New Biol. XXVIII. 98, I had difficulty in finding a suitable name for the activated complexes produced in these experiments. On showing one of them to Professor A. J. Ayer, I inquired whether it perhaps might be a ‘drogulus’... He replied that it was undoubtedly a ‘drogulus’. |