antimacassar (2009-04-14)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: [æn-ti-mê-'kæ-sê(r)]

Definition: A covering originally thrown over the backs and arms of sofas and chairs to protect them from the hair oil worn by men of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. Currently these covers, usually crocheted, are used for mere decoration.

Usage: Antimacassars are associated with homes remindful of the era of hair oil, "The overstuffed couch and armchairs were decorated with crocheted antimacassars, stained to suggest that at least one of the users was still a devotee of Brylcreem." This does not prevent metaphorical stretches, however: "Dawn South came from a region of catfish fishing, hoedowns, and antimacassar evangelism." (A more sophisticated way of referring to Dawn as a redneck.)

Suggested Usage: Today's word is an odd lexical orphan, mixing a regular prefix with the name of a commercial product. Converting a proper commercial name into a common noun is not unusual, however, as the Etymology shows.

Etymology: Anti- "against" + Macassar, the trade name of a hair oil produced by Rowland and Son and popular in 19th-century England. "Macassar" is the English attempt at "Mangkasara," the name of a district in the Celebes. The hair oil was supposedly made from plants originating there. The process of converting a proper noun like "Macassar" into a common noun is known as "commonization" and commercial names commonized in this way include "escalator," "aspirin," "dumpster," "band-aid," and "jello."