Mesopotamian.

Brit.

/ˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmɪə/, U.S.

/ˈˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmiə/

Forms: also with lower-case initial.

Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Mesopotamia.

Etymology: < the name of Mesopotamia, a region in south-west Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now in Iraq, site of the civilizations of Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria, ultimately (perhaps via classical Latin Mesopotamia ) < Hellenistic Greek Μεσοποταμία < μεσοποτάμιος between rivers < ancient Greek μέσο- meso- comb. form + ποταμός river (see potamic adj.) + -ιος, suffix forming adjectives, probably after Aramaic bēn nahrīn between the rivers, after Akkadian māt birītim, birīt nārim the land between the rivers (chiefly denoting a region between the rivers Euphrates and Khabur).Mesopotamia occurs as a place name in English contexts from Old English onwards (in early use frequently with Latin case inflections).

1. In the names of places likened in some way to Mesopotamia.

a. An area of land between two rivers. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > land near river > [noun] > between rivers

Doab1638

Mesopotamia1651

subdivide1857

interfluve1902

1651 W. Jenkins Serm. 5 Nov. 5 The Devil..is continually seeking wayes and means to offend Gods people, so that the Church of God is another Mesopotamia.

1854 R. G. Latham Native Races Russ. Empire 177 The Doab, Entre Rios, or Mesopotamia, bounded by the rivers Obi and Irtish.

1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 13/2 Every Oxford man has known and loved the beauties of the walk called Mesopotamia.

1944 G. B. Cressey Asia's Lands & Peoples xxvi. 401/2 The land between the rivers, that is, the true ‘Mesopotamia’, is thus capable of easy irrigation from either side.

1963 A. R. Woolley Clarendon Guide Oxf. 130 A path continues between the river and a mill-race and this is known as Mesopotamia.

1976 M. Apple Oranging of Amer. 42 Perhaps it is here, where it hurts when I poke, here, in this little Mesopotamia between the lungs.

1977 J. McPhee Coming into Country i. 7 It has formed with the Salmon River a raised, flat sand-and-gravel mesopotamia—a good enough campsite.

†b. = Belgravia n. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of

vintrya1456

steelyard1474

tower hillc1480

city1556

Bow-bell1600

row1607

gate1723

east end1742

Mayfair1754

garden1763

warren1769

west?1789

the Borough1797

west end1807

Holy Land1821

Belgravia1848

Tyburnia1848

Mesopotamia1850

South Kensington1862

Dockland1904

South Ken1933

Fitzrovia1958

square mile1966

1850 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour xxxiii, in New Monthly Mag. Feb. 207 They established themselves in..Mecklenburgh-square. Novelists had not then written this part down as ‘Mesopotamia’, and it was quite as genteel as Harley or Wimpole-street are now.

1864 E. Yates Broken to Harness I. xv. 271 A house in Great Adullam Street, Macpelah Square, in that district of London whilom known as ‘Mesopotamia’.

2. Used as the type of a word which is long, pleasant-sounding, and incomprehensible (see quot. 1870). Hence used allusively of any speech which gives irrational or inexplicable comfort or satisfaction to the hearer.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > contentment or satisfaction > [noun] > giving inexplicable satisfaction to hearer

Mesopotamia1827

the mind > language > linguistics > linguistic unit > word > [noun] > other specific types of word

hard word1533

household word1574

magic word1581

grandam words1598

signal word1645

book worda1670

wordie1718

my whole1777

foundling1827–38

keyword1827

Mesopotamia1827

thought-word1844

word-symbol1852

nursery word1853

pivot word1865

rattler1865

object word1876

pillow word1877

nonce-word1884

non-word1893

fossil1901

blessed word1910

bogy-word1919

catch-all1922

pseudo-word1929

false friend1931

plus word1939

descriptor1946

meta-word1952

discourse marker1967

shrub2008

1827 W. Scott Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. v. 109 She resembled exactly in her criticism the devotee who pitched on the ‘sweet word Mesopotamia’, as the most edifying note which she could bring away from a sermon.

1870 E. C. Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable 572/1 The true ‘Mesopotamia’ ring..i.e., something high-sounding and pleasing, but wholly past comprehension. The allusion is to the story of an old woman who told her pastor that she ‘found great support in that comfortable word Mesopotamia’.

1886 ‘M. Gray’ Silence of Dean Maitland III. iii. iv. 94 Of the dean it might be averred that his pronunciation of ‘Mesopotamia’ caused the listeners' hearts to vibrate with every sorrow and every joy they had ever known.

1908 G. B. Shaw Platform & Pulpit (1962) 47 There are people who will swallow as inspired revelation any sort of stuff that, so to speak, has the word Mesopotamia in it.

1924 L. Parks What is Modernism? p. xviii The reaction to words is a curious psychological—I suspect pathological—phenomenon. The oft-told tale of the good woman who found ‘Mesopotamia’ a soothing word is one example.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	mesopotamia
释义	Mesopotamian. Brit. /ˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmɪə/, U.S. /ˈˌmɛsəpəˈteɪmiə/ Forms: also with lower-case initial. Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Mesopotamia. Etymology: < the name of Mesopotamia, a region in south-west Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now in Iraq, site of the civilizations of Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria, ultimately (perhaps via classical Latin Mesopotamia ) < Hellenistic Greek Μεσοποταμία < μεσοποτάμιος between rivers < ancient Greek μέσο- meso- comb. form + ποταμός river (see potamic adj.) + -ιος, suffix forming adjectives, probably after Aramaic bēn nahrīn between the rivers, after Akkadian māt birītim, birīt nārim the land between the rivers (chiefly denoting a region between the rivers Euphrates and Khabur).Mesopotamia occurs as a place name in English contexts from Old English onwards (in early use frequently with Latin case inflections). 1. In the names of places likened in some way to Mesopotamia. a. An area of land between two rivers. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > land near river > [noun] > between rivers Doab1638 Mesopotamia1651 subdivide1857 interfluve1902 1651 W. Jenkins Serm. 5 Nov. 5 The Devil..is continually seeking wayes and means to offend Gods people, so that the Church of God is another Mesopotamia. 1854 R. G. Latham Native Races Russ. Empire 177 The Doab, Entre Rios, or Mesopotamia, bounded by the rivers Obi and Irtish. 1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 23 June 13/2 Every Oxford man has known and loved the beauties of the walk called Mesopotamia. 1944 G. B. Cressey Asia's Lands & Peoples xxvi. 401/2 The land between the rivers, that is, the true ‘Mesopotamia’, is thus capable of easy irrigation from either side. 1963 A. R. Woolley Clarendon Guide Oxf. 130 A path continues between the river and a mill-race and this is known as Mesopotamia. 1976 M. Apple Oranging of Amer. 42 Perhaps it is here, where it hurts when I poke, here, in this little Mesopotamia between the lungs. 1977 J. McPhee Coming into Country i. 7 It has formed with the Salmon River a raised, flat sand-and-gravel mesopotamia—a good enough campsite. †b. = Belgravia n. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of vintrya1456 steelyard1474 tower hillc1480 city1556 Bow-bell1600 row1607 gate1723 east end1742 Mayfair1754 garden1763 warren1769 west?1789 the Borough1797 west end1807 Holy Land1821 Belgravia1848 Tyburnia1848 Mesopotamia1850 South Kensington1862 Dockland1904 South Ken1933 Fitzrovia1958 square mile1966 1850 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour xxxiii, in New Monthly Mag. Feb. 207 They established themselves in..Mecklenburgh-square. Novelists had not then written this part down as ‘Mesopotamia’, and it was quite as genteel as Harley or Wimpole-street are now. 1864 E. Yates Broken to Harness I. xv. 271 A house in Great Adullam Street, Macpelah Square, in that district of London whilom known as ‘Mesopotamia’. 2. Used as the type of a word which is long, pleasant-sounding, and incomprehensible (see quot. 1870). Hence used allusively of any speech which gives irrational or inexplicable comfort or satisfaction to the hearer. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > contentment or satisfaction > [noun] > giving inexplicable satisfaction to hearer Mesopotamia1827 the mind > language > linguistics > linguistic unit > word > [noun] > other specific types of word hard word1533 household word1574 magic word1581 grandam words1598 signal word1645 book worda1670 wordie1718 my whole1777 foundling1827–38 keyword1827 Mesopotamia1827 thought-word1844 word-symbol1852 nursery word1853 pivot word1865 rattler1865 object word1876 pillow word1877 nonce-word1884 non-word1893 fossil1901 blessed word1910 bogy-word1919 catch-all1922 pseudo-word1929 false friend1931 plus word1939 descriptor1946 meta-word1952 discourse marker1967 shrub2008 1827 W. Scott Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. v. 109 She resembled exactly in her criticism the devotee who pitched on the ‘sweet word Mesopotamia’, as the most edifying note which she could bring away from a sermon. 1870 E. C. Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable 572/1 The true ‘Mesopotamia’ ring..i.e., something high-sounding and pleasing, but wholly past comprehension. The allusion is to the story of an old woman who told her pastor that she ‘found great support in that comfortable word Mesopotamia’. 1886 ‘M. Gray’ Silence of Dean Maitland III. iii. iv. 94 Of the dean it might be averred that his pronunciation of ‘Mesopotamia’ caused the listeners' hearts to vibrate with every sorrow and every joy they had ever known. 1908 G. B. Shaw Platform & Pulpit (1962) 47 There are people who will swallow as inspired revelation any sort of stuff that, so to speak, has the word Mesopotamia in it. 1924 L. Parks What is Modernism? p. xviii The reaction to words is a curious psychological—I suspect pathological—phenomenon. The oft-told tale of the good woman who found ‘Mesopotamia’ a soothing word is one example. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1651
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