A.Word.A.Day --ultimogeniture

A.Word.A.Day

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Aug 24, 2016

This week’s theme
There’s an antonym for it

This week’s words
estivate
diurnal
ultimogeniture
distributary
dissensus

The Kachin people of Burma who traditionally practice ultimogeniture

Photo: Yoav David/Wikimedia

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

ultimogeniture

PRONUNCIATION:

(uhl-tuh-mo-JEN-i-chuhr)

MEANING:

noun: A system of inheritance in which the youngest child inherits a title, estate, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin ultimus (last) + genitura (birth). Earliest documented use: 1882. Also known as postremogeniture. The opposite is primogeniture.

USAGE:

“Bao’s mother died in a small plane crash, and Bao as the youngest daughter had to go home and take care of the things, including possession of the family home. Ultimogeniture in action.”
Kim Stanley Robinson; Blue Mars; Bantam; 1996.

See more usage examples of ultimogeniture in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

How can you have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism? -Howard Zinn, historian, playwright, and social activist (24 Aug 1922-2010)

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