English 版 (精华区)
发信人: watergod (共工), 信区: English
标 题: A.Word.A.Day--murdrum(转载)
发信站: 哈工大紫丁香 (2000年09月03日19:34:28 星期天), 转信
【 以下文字转载自 watergod 的信箱 】
【 原文由 Wordsmith 所发表 】
murdrum (MUR-drum) noun
1. The killing of a human being in a secret manner.
2. The fine payable to the king by the hundred where such a killing
occurred, unless the killer was produced or the victim proved to
be a Saxon.
[From Medieval Latin, from Old French, murdre, murder.]
"[F]or the unsolved murders of Frenchmen, they inflicted a particularly
punitive version of the long-lasting murdrum fine ..."
Saint George for England.
Rebecca Colman, Saint George for England, Contemporary Review, Apr 1997.
Did you notice that today's word is a palindrome? Two other palindromic
words have made the AWAD list so far: minim and Nauruan. -Anu
This week's theme: words that make one say, I didn't know there was a word
for that.
.............................................................................
Nowadays, people can be divided into three classes - the Haves, the
Have-Nots, and the Have-Not-Paid-for-What-They-Haves. -Earl Wilson, newspaper
columnist (1907-1987)
Looking for a word previously featured in AWAD? An alphabetical index is
available at http://wordsmith.org/awad/wordlist.html . For the chronological
archives, visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html. Send mail to
wsmith@wordsmith.org to get archives by email.
Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/murdrum.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/murdrum.ram
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