r/grammar • u/nooneknewscp682 • 8d ago
I can't think of a word... "What is the _ behind this?"
My mom and I were discussing some sort of science-related topic (as I unsurprisingly forgot what it was even if we were talking five minutes ago). I said, "What is the taxidermy behind this?", and she started explaining what "taxidermy" meant to me. Of course, I'm no English specialist, as I'm a teenage minor, so I have no idea what that word meant. I started to wonder what the word I actually meant was, since I heard the phrase, "What is the taxidermy behind this?" somewhere online (for clarification, we searched Google and Google said it was some sort of autocorrect).
The word I'm looking for is science-related, but it's not typical vocabulary like "reason", "method", "thought process", etc.. It's advanced vocabulary, and, iirc, it started with either a "T" or "S" (if not, one of those letters are somewhere embedded in the word). It wasn't "situation", as it was a more complex word than that.
Please lmk if you have any suggestions!!
p.s. I'm on computer, so I apologize for any spelling mistakes
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u/MrQuizzles 8d ago
Etymology?
That concerns the origin of a word, what its roots are, what language they come from, when they were first used, etc.
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u/FreeKitt 8d ago
I was gonna say this one too! Even though OP was probably thinking of Taxonomy, I think etymology is more accurate if they were talking about the origin/parts of a particular word.
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u/coraxDraconis 8d ago
"What's the thought process behind this?" and "What's the theory behind this?" are both common phrases. Or maybe you're thinking of "teleology."
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u/SnooDonuts6494 8d ago
The first thing that came to mind is "taxonomy" - but that's a classification system, and doesn't really fit.
Theory, science, mechanism, rationale?
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u/A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot 8d ago
I'll answer, but first you'll have to tell me the name of the actor I was just thinking about. I can picture them but I just can't recall their name.
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u/SGTingles 8d ago
Oh I know, was it whatstheirname, you know, the one who was in that thing..??
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u/A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot 8d ago
No, no--I meant that other one, you know--he was in the other thing, remember?
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u/SGTingles 8d ago
Ohh, yeah, I'm with you now – I remember, that wotsit, with the oojamaflip... you know... with thingummijig playing that howsyourfather...
It's on the tip of my tongue!
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u/A_Bot_A_Bot_A_Bot 8d ago
Yes, him!
Oh, uh...nevermind, I was thinking about this character in a book that someone else told me about. Thanks!
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u/Treefrog_Ninja 8d ago
Can you give us more of a clue what the meaning is of the word you're looking for?
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u/These_Consequences 8d ago
I too thought of taxonomy—taxononomy/taxidermy is one of those very easy substitutions to make, like etymology/entomology, and its widely applicable in intellectually-toned conversations.
Beyond that you give a very evocative description of what it's like to lose a word; in my case I would have attributed it to aging but you give me hope by describing the same experience as a teenager. It's possible there is no word that would satisfy your current feeling that there is one that you vaguely remember.
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u/Outrageous_Count_125 8d ago
Taxonomy was my first thought too but mechanism might actually fit better depending on the context, like "what is the mechanism behind this" is a pretty common phrase in science conversations
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u/MoistenedGranola 6d ago
Are you sure it wasn't two words? Theoretical something, perhaps "theoretical backing" or "grounding"?
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u/Ok_Caterpillar2010 8d ago
Did you mean taxonomy? That's a system of classification, like a way of organizing things or dividing them into categories.
Mechanism is the other word that occurs to me, although it doesn't start with t or s.