This week’s theme
Words borrowed (adopted) from other languages

This week’s words
cordillera
bondieuserie
pareidolia
akratic
satyagraha

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(bon-DYOO-zuh-ree)

MEANING:

noun: A piece of banal religious art, devotional object, ornament, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French bondieuserie (religious knick-knack), from bon (good) + dieu (god). Earliest documented use: 1941.

USAGE:

“Extant churches were ‘cleansed’, stripped of altars, stained glass, paintings, and dubious bondieuserie.”
Jonathan Meades; Vatican II and Architecture’s Wild Men; The Spectator (London, UK); Apr 15, 2017.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: