Lalochezia

Lalochezia (pronounced lăl′ō-kē′zē-ə)

The emotional relief or satisfaction gained by using indecent or vulgar language; the use of vulgar or foul language to relieve stress or pain.

The construct was lalo(s) + -chezia.  Lalo was from the Ancient Greek λαλέω (laléō) (I talk, chat, prattle), from λάλος (lálos), thought probably of imitative origin and compared in that sense to the German lallen (to babble).  It may have been a reduplicated form of the primitive Indo-European lehz-, the cognates including the Latin lallō, the Lithuanian laluoti, the German lallen, the English loll & the Welsh llolian but etymologists caution that’s speculative and it may be merely onomatopoeic.  The English suffix –cheziz represented the Ancient Greek χέζω (khézō) (I defecate) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā), the suffix forming abstract nouns.

Lalochezia is a simple construction, the Greek lalos (talkative, babbling and loquacious) + khezo (I defecate) (which became the English suffix -chezia (defecation)).  The idea is thus the universally understood “talking shit” in the sense of filthy language.  Other similar constructions, both of which are probably as rare as lalochezia, include allochezia (either (1) expelling something other than feces from the anus or (2) expelling feces from somewhere other than the anus (curiously, two very different experiences described by the same word)) and dyschezia (a difficult or painful defecation).  Lalochezia is rare word certainly but when needed, nothing else works so well or with such economy of expression. 

If the word is rare, what is describes is anything but and there have been academic studies which confirm the effect is real: swearing or cursing in reaction to stress or pain does appear to reduce discomfort, the effect described as a form of stress-induced analgesia, the swearing due to a painful stimulus being a form of emotional response.  However, it remains unclear what the mechanism is which swearing induces to achieve the physical effect although it’s speculated swearing in response to pain or stress may activate the amygdala (one of the two regions of the brain, located as a pair in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in processing emotions (fear, pleasure et al) in both animals and humans) which in turn triggers a fight-or-flight response, this leading to a surge in adrenaline, a natural form of pain relief.

Lindsay Lohan, Los Angeles, 2010.

Lalochezia is of course inherently verbal but need not be oral and can even be nikehedonic (relief or satisfaction gained for an act done in anticipation of its effect).  In July 2010, Lindsay Lohan returned to court in the matter of an alleged violation of the terms of a probation order and it didn’t go well, a jail sentence of 90 days imposed which was bad but, due to chronic over-crowding in Los Angeles corrective facilities, she was released after a few hours which was good.  What attracted some interest was her manicure, the nails painted in a playful pastel psychedelia but what stood out was the middle finger where written in black was "fuck U", the “U” in what appeared to be upper-case script taken to be a hint at the intended emphasis.  The photos taken during the proceedings show her with the offending hand often covering the mouth, leading commentators to suggest the silent sentiment was aimed at the bench.  Whether this was an inventive form of visual dialogue (albeit one presumably scaled to be not within the judge’s field of view) or, as she subsequently claimed "a joke with a friend", regardless of the protection offered by the First Amendment, it’s a fashion choice few defense lawyers would suggest their clients should follow.