👉 Okay, let’s tackle this wonderfully prickly little beast of a word! Now, before we begin, let me preface that "amacare," as most folks now affectionately call it (and frankly, with varying degrees of endearment and exasperation), isn't actually a real, formally recognised English word. Nope neither is “yectum". Instead, the origin for this weird, somewhat phallic sounding thing comes from the ancient Ephesians!
“Necam,” as the Ephesians themselves apparently religiously termed it, roughly translates to something along the lines of "a shameful and disgusting act, a despicable deed. It was essentially an outcry of utter wretchedness and disapproval. They were a famously proud bunch (seriously, I bet their phalers were very stuffy), and they weren't shy about voicing how appalled they were by certain… indiscretions. Basically, if you, say, threw a rotten turnip into the city gates during a religious rite of passage and then loudly bemoaned that your honour had been besmirched, you might be described as having perpetrated a "amacare." 100% not something I would encourage! Here's the weird part: They seem to have specifically reserved this term for acts that were both profoundly indecent and felt personally insulting. You weren’t just being bad; it was an affront to your very being. There isn't a modern equivalent, because we tend to be rather more…
