Alektorophobia is the persistent fear of chickens, or poultry in general. It is an intense, unfounded anxiety that can cause avoidance of poultry-related environments or activities. The term combines pharmacological-sounding roots with a specific animal fear, and is often discussed in clinical or psychology contexts.
"She avoided the farm visit due to alektorophobia."
"Among her many quirks, alektorophobia made poultry markets a source of distress."
"His alektorophobia intensified after a childhood incident around chickens."
"Counselors helped him manage alektorophobia so he could attend the farm tour."
Alektorophobia derives from the Greek alo- root where ‘alektron’ relates to a cock or chicken? The etymology is a bit more nuanced. The primary components come from Greek aklēktérion? The first element alektor- appears in Greek alektor, meaning chicken, or rooster, with -phóbia from phobos meaning fear. The compound likely formed in the modern era as part of the taxonomy of specific phobias: a combination of a poultry-specific root with the generic fear suffix -phobia. Historically, the term likely emerged in the late 19th to mid-20th century as psychology advanced its taxonomic categories of animal fears and phobias, alongside other animal-specific terms like ailurophobia (cats) or ornithophobia (birds broadly). Its use would be grounded in clinical descriptions of irrational fear responses to poultry environments, rather than general animal fear, distinguishing it from broader anxieties about birds. First known scholarly mentions would be tied to case reports or lexical coinages in medical lexicons, with the exact first use often elusive in the public record and dating from the early 1900s to mid-1900s as psychiatric terminology expanded.
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Words that rhyme with "Alektorophobia"
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Pronounce as /ˌæl.ɪ.kˌtɔːrəˈfoʊ.bi.ə/ in US, with primary stress on the third syllable. Break it into five parts: al- (short a), e- (as in ‘ell’), kto- (K-to), -ro- (ro), -phobia (fo-bee-uh) with stress on the final -phobia. Mouth often widens for the /ɔː/ vowel, and the ‘ph’ is /f/; the ending -ia is /i.ə/.
Common mistakes: (1) Misplacing stress, say a-LEK-to-RO-phia; (2) Slurring the /t/ leading to /t/ becoming a flap or /d/; (3) Mispronouncing the final -phobia as -fobia or -phobi-a. Correct by emphasizing the stressed syllable and pronouncing each segment clearly: /ˌæl.ɪ.kˌtɔː.rəˈfoʊ.bi.ə/. Practice by isolating the -tɔː.rə- segment and the final /foʊ.bi.ə/.
In US: /ˌæl.ɪ.kˌtɔr.əˈfoʊ.bi.ə/. UK: /ˌæ.lɪˈkɒt.ə.rəˈfɔː.bi.ə/ with non-rhotic r; AU: /ˌæləktəˈrɒfəbiə/ with broader vowels. Differences include vowel height in /ɔ/ vs /ɒ/ and rhoticity in US vs UK. The final -phobia often has a clear /foʊ/ (US) vs /fəʊ/ (UK/AU). Mind the syllable boundaries and stress position shifts among dialects.
The difficulty comes from multiple-phoneme cluster: a three-part prefix (ale- / æ l e /, lek- / l ɛ k /), a mid- syllable /tɔr/ or /tɒtəɹ/, and the final -phobia with /foʊ.bi.ə/ or /fəʊ.bi.ə/. The combination of a rare animal-root, a non-intuitive stress pattern (often shifting depending on dialect), and a long final sequence can challenge non-native speakers. Practice by chunking: al- lekt- o- ra- ph o- b ia, then blend.
Does the prefix alektor- carry a silent letter? No. The first syllable is pronounced with a clear short 'a' as in 'cat', followed by a pronounced 'lek' sequence. The 'ph' is always /f/; there is no silent 'ph'. The final -ia is typically /i.ə/ or /i.ə/ depending on accent. Emphasize the penultimate or antepenultimate depending on dialect; in many American usages, the main stress is on -phobia.
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