aichmophobia

English

Etymology

From aichmo- +‎ -phobia, from Ancient Greek αιχμή (aikhmḗ, “spearhead”) + φόβος (phóbos, “fear”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -əʊbiə

Noun

aichmophobia (uncountable)

1. The fear of needles and other pointed or sharp objects.
   • 1963, Robert Heinlein, Glory Road, Ch.1, at p.10:

     Some people cannot stand knives, swords, bayonets, anything sharp; psychiatrists have a word for it: aichmophobia. Idiots who drive cars a hundred miles an hour on fifty-mile-an-hour roads will nevertheless panic at the sight of a bare blade.

   • 1977, George W. Kisker, The disorganized personality:

     In aichmophobia the person develops a pathological fear of sharp and pointed objects. He or she fears pieces of broken glass, scraps of metal, nails, and scissors. Fear of this kind leads to all sorts of eccentric habits.

   • 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 5, in The Line of Beauty […], 1st US edition, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     “Hmm,” said Catherine. “It looks like something out of a field hospital.” And she shot a tiny forbidding glance at Nick, who saw that it was probably the aichmophobia, the horror of sharp objects, that made the serving and carving of a haunch of venison impossible for her.

Synonyms

• belonephobia
• trypanophobia

Translations

fear of pointed or sharp objects

• Dutch: aichmofobie f
• Finnish: aikmofobia (fi)
• German: Aichmophobie f
• Italian: aicmofobia (it) f