And here’s what the nib did… It was lovely to use. I found that varying the pressure gave the most beautiful lines. It looks almost like brushwork.
This is one of the possible dinkusses (dinki?) to go in the Bloodflower novel, for which I just finished the maps.
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Nice picture, but I was intrigued by dinkus
I looked up dinkus – and it doesn’t appear in the OED, but it is listed in the Macquarie dictionary. It turns out this word has its origins in the twenties – coined by an artist who worked for the Bulletin (they don’t say, but I take this to be an Australian paper given the word’s not in the OED).
One website said that dinkus found its origin from the word dinky (i.e., small – and for me, kind of cool or cute), but also at that time in the 20′s, the US was using the word “dingus” meaning “thingummy” Now, dingus comes from the dutch ding – thing. But, they are not sure where dinky comes from – either from Dinghy (orig. a small Indian rowing boat) or from Dink (a scottish word meaning “neatly dressed”).
So, I think given the words unclear origins, there are no strict rules on what the plural should look like. If you think it should go like cactus->cacti then the plural would be dinki, if you think it should go like bus->buses then the plural would be dinkuses.
People who worry about this stuff at night would go with dinkuses I think – because it is unlikely the word has a latin origin. However, it could be argued that the artist who invented the word was attempting to latinify dinky anyway – in which case using dinki would be more in the spirit of things.
At the very least, this word should be in the oed – so if anyone sees it in print, we should let them know and they’ll put it in!
Nice work! I was actually hoping to find out more about it… you walked right into my trap
If emails counted I’ve a bundle of mentions between me and my editors. But I can easily start a campaign to keep an eye out for them in more reputable sources. So – anyone spots a dinkus mention in the printed word (something the OED would respect) please let me know! I reckon ‘Dinky’ is a likely suspect. And I alternate between dinki and dinkusses depending on whim. They’re both fun to say. If you consider that a dinkus often marks a welcome little break in the text – it could well be a ‘dinghy’. A little lifeline for the tired reader…
Whatever about the dinketymology, the drawing itself is adoreable. Me likey!