triskaidekaphobia (tri skī dekəˈfōbēə)

Happy October! Since Halloween is coming up at the end of the month, I thought it would be interesting to explore different phobias, or fears people may have. Have you ever noticed that some buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor? That’s because many people consider the number thirteen unlucky. The fear of the number thirteen is called triskaidekaphobia.

Triskaidekaphobia comes from the Greek roots tris– meaning three, deka-, meaning ten, and the suffix –phobia meaning abnormal fear of. Kai is the Greek word for “and.” The word literally means “abnormal fear of ten and three.”

Are you a triskaidekaphobe? What are you afraid of? Let me know and I will try to explore words based on your fears.

3 responses to “triskaidekaphobia (tri skī dekəˈfōbēə)”

  1. Vijay Avatar
    Vijay

    Awesome word Tara!!

  2. Caroline Avatar
    Caroline

    I am afraid of ants!

    1. The Word Explorer Avatar

      Caroline,

      Thank you for your comment. I think you have myrmecophobia, the fear of ants. I just wrote about this today!

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I’m Tara!

My name is Tara and I am a recent graduate of Duke University, with dual degrees in cultural anthropology and political science, and a minor in linguistics. Twelve years ago, I started this blog to share my love of words with others and teach people about the intricacies of etymology and words across our beloved English language!