xenagogue

English

WOTD – 24 February 2025

Etymology

A c. 1935 photograph of a xenagogue or tour guide in Bizerte, Tunisia.

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ξεναγωγός (xenagōgós), from ξένος (xénos, “foreigner; guest; stranger”, noun) (possibly ultimately Pre-Greek) + ἀγωγός (agōgós, “(adjective) guiding, leading; (noun) escort, guide”) (from ᾰ̓́γω (ắgō, “to bring along, lead”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive”)) + -ός (-ós, suffix forming agentive or patientive adjectives and nouns)). By surface analysis, xen- (prefix meaning ‘relating to foreigners or strangers’) +‎ -agogue (suffix denoting something leading to another thing).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈzɛnəɡɒɡ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈzɛnəˌɡɑɡ/
• Hyphenation: xen‧a‧gogue

Noun

xenagogue (plural xenagogues)

1. (obsolete, rare) One who guides strangers; a guide or tour guide.
   • [1570 (date written), William Lambarde, “The Description and History, of the Shire of Kent”, in A Perambulation of Kent: Conteining the Description, Hystorie, and Customes of that Shire. […], 3rd edition, London: […] R. Hodgkinsonne, for D[aniel] Pakeman, […], published [1640], →OCLC, page 2:

     […] I vvill be their Xenagogus, or guide, and firſt ſhevv them our Country of Kent, the inhabitants vvhereof, [Julius] Cæſar himſelf in his Commentaries, confeſſeth to be of all others the moſt full of humanity and gentleneſſe.

     A use of the Ancient Greek word.]

   • 1674, John Josselyn, “The Second Voyage”, in An Account of Two Voyages to New-England. […], London: […] Giles Widdows, […], →OCLC, page 136:

     They are generally excellent Zenagogues or guides through their Countrie.

   • 1969 October, Poul Anderson, chapter X, in The Rebel Worlds (Signet Science Fiction; T4041), New York, N.Y.: New American Library, →OCLC, page 92:

     Consider popular enthusiasm roused by his demagogues and xenagogues.

   • 1988, Alfred A. Yuson, “The Resurrection”, in Great Philippine Jungle Energy Cafe […], 3rd edition, Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Anvil Publishing, published 2015, →ISBN, page 208:

     [H]e can't quite get a bead on her instead his swift & anonymous xenagogue points out a bevy of beauties […]

     Written in a stream-of-consciousness style.

   • 2015, Mary Frances Rice, “Rhetorical Constructions of Parents by Online Learning Companies: A Study of Parent Testimonials”, in Mary Frances Rice, editor, Exploring Pedagogies for Diverse Learners Online (Advances in Research on Teaching; 25), Bingley, West Yorkshire: Emerald Books, →ISBN, →ISSN, section II (Reimagining Support for Online Learners), page 137:

     A xenagogue also walks alongside, but as a tour guide. […] In these testimonials of online learning parents are depicted as being able to accomplish pedagogical ends while acting like xenagogues. These insights beg the question of whether parents can be mobilized and empowered as pedagogues and online teachers would be more effective if they were empowered instead as xenagogues.

Alternative forms

• zenagogue

Derived terms

• xenagogy

Further reading

• tour guide on Wikipedia.Wikipedia