/soy/ - Soyjaks

An AI suggestion for you all:

here is no standard Latin suffix for hating something. Instead, English borrows from Greek for this
exact linguistic function, specifically using the suffix -misia (noun meaning "hatred of") and -
misic (adjective meaning "hating").

The Greek Alternatives
While the suffix -phobia is heavily used in English to denote hatred or intolerance (e.g., xenophobia),
it literally translates to "fear". To fix this accuracy issue, the Greek root mîsos (hatred) is used to create
true hate-based suffixes:
- -misia: Creates nouns for the hatred of something (e.g., transmisia, automatonesia).
- -misic: Creates adjectives for hating something (e.g., logomisic).
- miso-: Used far more commonly as a prefix at the start of a word, such as misogyny (hatred of
women) or misanthropy (hatred of humanity).

The Latin Roots (Not Suffixes)
If you specifically need a Latin-derived word for hate, Latin relies on roots and prefixes rather than
suffixes:
Odium / Odi-: The Latin root for hatred. It gives us English words like odious (despicable)
and odium (disgrace/hatred).
In- / Dis-: Latin prefixes used alongside base verbs to show intense aversion, creating words
like invidious or dislike.

Yes, homomisia is exactly the term that linguistic purists and advocacy groups have proposed to
replace "homophobia".

Origin and Current Usage
The term was coined by Robert Epstein in 2003 while he was editor-in-chief of Psychology Today. He
introduced it specifically to address the precise misnomer you mentioned: "homophobia" implies the
bigot is acting out of an uncontrollable, clinical psychiatric fear rather than learned hatred, prejudice, or
bigotry.

While it sounds perfectly logical and grammatically precise, its real-world implementation faces a few
distinct realities:
- Low Public Awareness: Outside of academic circles, linguistics discussions, and specific social
justice advocacy groups (like those taking the "Misia Pledge"), the vast majority of English
speakers do not know what the suffix -misia means.
- The "Usage vs. Etymology" Rule: In linguistics, a word's current meaning is dictated by how
society uses it, not just its historical roots. Because "homophobia" has been culturally cemented for
decades to mean anti-gay prejudice, mainstream dictionaries officially define it as covering hatred,
discrimination, and aversion—not just literal fear.
- The Bigot's Loophole: An unexpected side effect of this debate occurs when anti-gay individuals
weaponize the literal definition of phobia, proudly claiming, "I'm not homophobic because I'm not
afraid of you." Using homomisia strips away that defense by directly labeling the attitude as hate.

Other Parallel Terms
The push to replace -phobia with -misia extends across several common terms to more accurately
reflect discrimination:
- Transphobia Transmisia
- Xenophobia Xenomisia
- Islamophobia Islamomisia