this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2024
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Word of the Day

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This is a place to post words you read and had to look up or simply enjoyed the rare word drop in something you read.

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pareidolia (upload.wikimedia.org)
submitted 1 month ago by j4k3 to c/wotd
 

Noun

pareidolia (plural pareidolias)

  • (psychology) The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in music.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Pareidolie, constructed from Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, “alongside”) + εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image”) + -ία (-ía).

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