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Feb 25, 2010
This week's theme
Latin terms in English

This week's words
locum
ex cathedra
de jure
ad hominem
caveat

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

ad hominem

PRONUNCIATION:
(ad HO-mi-nuhm, HOM-uh-nuhm))

MEANING:
adverb, adjective:
  1. Appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or other personal considerations rather than to intellect or reason.
  2. Attacking an opponent personally instead of countering the argument.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin, literally "to the person".

USAGE:
"The New Israel Fund backers unleashed ad hominem attacks against the student group."
Anne Herzberg; Hey, NIF! Criticism is a Democratic Right; The Jerusalem Post (Israel); Feb 3, 2010.

See more usage examples of ad hominem in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Men rarely (if ever) managed to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988)

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