From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!zeppo!whuxlb!ech
Newsgroups: net.games.trivia
Title: other graphics
Article-I.D.: whuxlb.312
Posted: Fri Jun 25 01:41:26 1982
Received: Mon Jun 28 03:23:54 1982

No, water-writing isn't aqueography, laser-writing isn't luminography:
you're mixing your Greek (graphos) and Latin (aqua, lux) roots:
writing with water would be hydrography, with light, (surprise!) photography.

The latin "to write" is \scribere/, from which you might try aquascription
and luminascription -- not nearly as satisfying as the (already allocated!)
greek derivations, I'm afraid.

Oh, yes: xeros DOES predate "xerox"...by a couple of millenia.

If anybody still gives a rap after this little lecture, the Oxford English
Dictionary contains reasonable etymologies for most words.  If you must
invent words (and why not!), you might as well do a good job of it.

=Ned Horvath=