"I OBJURGATE the centipede, a bug we do not really need" ~ Ogden Nash

By MsW

And You will be mine!, originally uploaded by Ceslavs.

Word of the Day for Wednesday, April 16, 2008

objurgate \OB-juhr-gayt\, transitive verb:

To express strong disapproval of; to criticize severely.

 
I objurgate the centipede,
A bug we do not really need.
-- Ogden Nash, "The Centipede"
The act about to be objurgated here calls on the Food and Drug Administration to oversee a broad revision of food labeling.
-- Daniel Seligman, "Federal Food Follies", Fortune, July 1, 1991

Objurgate comes from the past participle of Latin from objurgare, "to scold, to blame," from ob-,

"against" + jurgare, "to dispute, to quarrel, to sue at law," from jus, jur-, "law" + -igare (from agere, "to lead")

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for objurgate



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