TIL: Propinquity

[timelets]

As in,

“The monstrous quality that runs through Borges's enumeration consists, on the contrary, in the fact that the common ground on which such meetings are possible has itself been destroyed. What is impossible is not the propinquity of the things listed, but the very site on which their propinquity would be possible. ”

Foucault, Michel. “The Order of Things: An Archaeology of Human Sciences.”

...in English "propinquity" conveys a stronger sense of closeness than "proximity."
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propinquity#note-1

Comments

[juan_gandhi]

Wow. So, proximity means "not far", and propinquity means "really close".

[timelets]

I think propinquity implies a certain close relationship. At least, that was the original meaning of the word in English.