How can we name a word?

“There are no rules about how to create a new word, just as there are no rules about how to create a new idea.” How does human imagination work?

What would be the chances of a word being successful outside of any usage? Just like any other new invention or idea, people will probably only use the word if:

• it serves a useful purpose in speech or writing by being evocative, functional, or other handy ( troglodyte, ecstasy ); or it
• expresses a complex concept or idea succinctly ( Schadenfreude, e-mail ); or it tickles
• their fancy ( supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ); or otherwise serves
• some function better than

Generally, your word is more likely to be successful if people can easily discern its meaning. If you invent a bunch of words and start using them with reckless abandon, it’ll be hard to understand what you’re saying, and that means your words will be less likely to be adopted by others.

“He chortled in his joy,” is an example of an easy to understand word if it is structurally similar to other words, such as “hangry is a blend of hungry and angry” or “his joy” If there is less imagination there is more freedom and more confidence in your word while the idea behind it is a word (Seopic, Truthiness ). (Whether the word is popular because the idea is popular, or vice versa, is a bit of a chicken and egg problem) Can you explain to me your idea better using

words or quotes, or even just by writing them down? Should I be afraid of inventing something?

What do you think of this new edition of SSMA?