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Oct 20, 2010
This week's themeEponyms This week's words harlequin stentorian pharisaical luddite simony 
The Pharisee and the Publican
A fresco from Ottobeuren Abbey, Germany 
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with Anu Gargpharisaical, also pharisaic
PRONUNCIATION:
(far-uh-SAY-uh-kuhl)
MEANING:
adjective:
Characterized by hypocritical self-righteousness; putting emphasis on strict
observance of rituals unrelated to the spirit or meaning of the ceremony.
ETYMOLOGY:
After the Pharisees, a Jewish sect during 1st century BCE - 1st century CE, whose members were
noted for strict observance of rites and rituals.
The word is derived via Latin and Greek from Aramaic prishayya, plural
of prish (separated).
USAGE:
"Then we have the pettiness and hypocrisy in the loud and pharisaical
condemnation emanating from the media and the public."Garth George; No Credit to be Found in Card Debacle; The Daily Post (Rotorua, New Zealand); Jun 18, 2010. See more usage examples of pharisaical in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882-1945)
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