When Saving Becomes a Vice: Enter Pismirism

Pismirism

noun | /ˈpɪz.məˌrɪz.əm/

ᛈᛁᛉ·ᛗᛁᚱ·ᛁᛉᛗ

[rare or literary]


Definition

The practice or habit of accumulating and hoarding money or resources; usually implies excessive miserliness or stinginess, though it can also refer to cautious frugality or strategic thrift.

Illustration for Pismirism

Etymology

From pismire (Middle English, “ant”), itself a compound of pyss (“urine,” referencing the acrid smell of anthills) and mire (“ant,” likely of Norse or Germanic origin). The suffix -ism denotes a belief, condition, or behavioral tendency. Pismire was also used contemptuously for petty, irritable people.

Visual concept of hoarding or thrift

Example

“Her pismirism, mocked in times of abundance, proved invaluable when scarcity returned.”

Anglo-Saxon Rune Transliteration

ᛈᛁᛉ·ᛗᛁᚱ·ᛁᛉᛗ

  • ᛈ (peorð)p
  • ᛁ (is)i
  • ᛉ (eolh)z/s (used here for "s")
  • ᛗ (mann)m
  • ᚱ (rad)r

This transliteration breaks the word into syllabic clusters: ᛈᛁᛉ (piz) · ᛗᛁᚱ (mir) · ᛁᛉᛗ (izm), phonetically mapping “pismirism” using the Anglo-Saxon futhorc.

Further Reading

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