Word of the Day: -noia

-noia

noun; a combining form appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “thought.”

Metanoia

noun; change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion.

Pronoia

(from Wikipedia); neologism defined as the opposite state of mind to paranoia: having the sense there’s a conspiracy that exists to help the person — also used to describe a philosophy that the world is set up to secretly benefit people. Pronoia is also a prevalent theme in The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. In it, the protagonist, a young boy is told by an older man to pursue his dreams. He tells the boy, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” The book also deals with omens, signs that the universe wants the boy to follow a specific path, which will lead to his goal of fulfilling a dream.