Words

ectopia n; ectopic adj.

WHY HAVE we allowed obstetricians sole use of the word ectopic? Always followed by "pregnancy" it has acquired a highly specialised meaning, though its Greek roots offer wider opportunities.

From 'ek (out of) and topos (place), anything in the wrong place could be described as ectopic.

"Can you let me in? My keys are ectopic." Or: "I'm sorry I can't come to the phone at the moment, I'm in ectopia."

Unlike Thomas More's Utopia, an imaginary place of idealised perfection, ectopia is defined as "displacement, anomaly of situation or relation." Or, as they say in America, "someplace else".

What better way to express total dissatisfaction with one's surroundings than: "On the whole, I'd rather be in ectopia"?