Pronunciation of “Apatheism”

from: Andrew Stevens

To whom this may concern:

I have yet to find a definition of ‘apatheism’ that includes a phonetic spelling. The running bet with my wife is “ah-pay-thee-ism” over “ah-paa-thee-ism”. I’ve got dinner riding on this one, so can you help me out?

Sincerely yours,

Andrew.

The Patriarch replies:

Andrew:

I would hope that this dispute with your wife is indicative of a very happy marriage, and may any future disagreements continue to be over issues no more important than this.

I cannot rule on your question authoritatively. To be honest, I have never heard the word “apatheism” spoken, nor have I used it in conversation with another person. I’ve rarely seen it in print other than on the internet and in the occasional e-mail. And my hard-copy dictionaries are mostly from the sixties.

My own suggested pronunciation would be based simply on “apathy” plus “ism.”

• I would pronounce “apathy” as áppəthee, with the stress as indicated on the initial syllable,
• and “ism” as ìzzəm.

When you put them together, an additional stress falls naturally on the third syllable to produce:

• áppəthéeìzzəm

or trying to represent the word without phonetic symbols

• a-puh-thee-izum.

I don’t think that quite matches your or your wife’s suggestions. Perhaps your wife should take care of the appetizer and desert, and you take responsibility for the main course.