Definition:

(1) The skillful or clever use of words. A logodaedalist is a person who uses words with exceptional skill or cunning. See also: Eloquence.

(2) The arbitrary or capricious coinage of words.

See also:

• Logomachy
• Neologism
• Nonce Word
• Stunt Word
• Word Play

Etymology:
"Logo- comes from a Greek root meaning 'word,' and -daedaly is related to Daedalus, the name of the designer of the Labyrinth for the Minotaur of Crete.


His name has come to mean 'ingenious, skillful.' Another rare logo- word is the nonce word logopandocie, which is the 'readiness to admit words of all kinds' and describes the English language (and most lexicographers)."
(Erin McKean, Weird and Wonderful Words. Oxford University Press, 2003)

Examples and Observations:

• "Webster 2 defines one of my all-time favorite words, logodaedaly, as 'verbal legerdemain,' using another one of my all-time favorite words, legerdemain, sleight of hand, artful trickery. If you suspected that the -daedaly half of logodaedaly might be related to Daedalus, the Athenian artificer of Greek mythology who designed the famed Labyrinth for the Minotaur of Crete, you're right. The unusual adjectives daedal and daedalian both means ingenious, intricate, cunningly contrived. Logodaedaly refers to an ingenious, intricate, or cunning use of words."
  (Charles H. Elster, There's a Word for It: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life. Simon & Schuster, 1996)
• "The tone of his brain had affinities with my own. He mimed and mocked me. His allusions were definitely highbrow. He was well read. He knew French. He was versed in logodaedaly and logomancy."
  (Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, 1955)

• "I'm Bosco, the obsessed logodaedalist.
  As long as there are any loose words around
  I'll try to make them hop, skip and jump for you,
  And maybe make them say something
  You didn't know they meant."
  (James Laughlin, "The Logodaedalist," in The Secret Room: Poems. New Directions, 1997)

Pronunciation: LAG-uh-DED-uh-lee