maledicta

English

Etymology

From Latin maledicta, plural of maledictum (curse, insult).

Noun

maledicta pl (plural only)

  1. Profane language of all kinds.
    • 2007, Steven Pinker, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature‎, page 340:
      We see this in the third commandment, in the popularity of hell, damn, God, and Jesus Christ, and in many of the terms for taboo language itself: profanity (that which is not sacred), blasphemy (literally "evil speech" but in practice disrespect toward a deity), and swearing, cursing, and oaths, which were originally secured by the invocation of a deity or one of his symbols, like the tabernacle, chalice, and wafer incongruously found in Catholic maledicta.

Anagrams


Latin

Noun

maledicta

  1. nominative plural of maledictum
  2. accusative plural of maledictum
  3. vocative plural of maledictum
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