aucrom, n.
Pronunciation: /ˈɔkrəm/, /ˈɔˌkrɑm/, /ˈaʊkrəm/
Forms: Pl. aucra. Also 17 aucrum.
Etymology: < Latin aucrum (O. Coleston 1706, in Myst'ries of Contr. & Cont. 34 11), an arbitrary formation.
1.
a. Electricity elicited by friction; 'static' electricity.
1706 O. COLESTON Contr. & Cont. 34 11 Engaging the obligatioun of the reader, I here propose the dissyllabick Noune aucrum to symboll the slight igniculi & flashes [etc].
1727 P. HOMBUERG Œcon. Tech. Arts (1910) II. xl. 278 A tardy Tome on the aucrom saw mechanicians and experimentors frantickly turning over the Leaves, what with their fingers proclive to ceaseless twitchings & strainings.
1833 B. B. PASTEY Expos. Sports & Pastimes §254. m Children who shufle their netherstocking'd feet across deep piled rugs or carpet to propagate a supply of aucrom ; and thereafter to let fly the crackling emissions amongst chaperones held in wrapped [sic] attention.
1976 M. CAELA Pravement Beat 168 Thanks to excessive training, the Ow!Crom-97 sublethal electric rifle was "phased" out that year in favor of..non-violent conflict resolution.
b. fig. A strong emotional feeling; a frisson.
1946 O. MIOSCO Not a Wink 260 No mere initiate would believe the aucrom of kintling satisfaction when sighting a perfectly plump and stoutly voluted ‘Nodding Pea’ (Nodilittorina ciceralis) used with true proficiency in lieu of a shuriken.
DERIVATIVES
au'cromic adj. Giving off, productive of, discharging, or transmitting, static electricity, esp. in the form of a minor shock or jolt. Also fig. (of mental perturbations).
1842 LD N. MOENN Ephem. Adventures (1873) I. ij. 54 9 The aucromic arts into which we were inducted and professed as valets for purposes of defending Gobelins from incautious and jaunty manipulation.
fig.
2031 Com. 28 Jan. in Exogalaxion (2068) a98e: I first begin to notice the aucromic disruptions which have been so hysterically described to us.
'aucrum v. trans. To 'shock' by discharging static electricity.
1918 B. L. OGNIONOV Doggerel IV. lxxxix. 20 Courageous, I shall, without quail, / aucrum a duck till it turns tail.
aucro'mescent adj. (of an object) Becoming negatively charged.
au'crominate v.
'aucromine v.
aucro'minic adj.
