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mumpsimus - Word of the Day - Sun Aug 11, 2023

Myr

Entry posted by Myr in Word of the Day

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mumpsimus - (noun) - a traditional custom or notion adhered to although shown to be unreasonable

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 Despite the evidence, he clung to his mumpsimus, refusing to change his outdated beliefs.

 

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drpaladin
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Mumpsimus is a nonsense word replacing the Latin sumpsimus, meaning we have taken.

Its origin lies in a letter written ny Desiderius Erasmus where he tells the story of an illiterate priest who refuses to see his reading of Mass was in error.

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sandrewn
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Often, when looking up ' STUFF' for, Word of the Day, most of the sites, appear quite alike! Encyclopedic, dictionaryish(?), sort of what it felt like when I walked into my High School library(I was an assistant librarian w/badge). So, finding a site, that answers, the what, where, why and when, along with, colorful attention grabbing visuals.... well here is my site of the day for you.

MUMPSIMUS... | LOUISE HAWES

 

And just a (passing)thought to leave you with a smile, to start your day.........

 

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May the force,

be with you

:cowboy:

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drpaladin
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Mumpsimus can also be a bigoted adherent to a disproven belief. Archie Bunker would be an example of a mumpsimus.

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Leslie Lofton
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As a Catholic myself, I know all about adhering to outdated beliefs and mindless repetition, but I love 'em anyway. I just try to remember it's 2024, not 1324

Because I can't leave this kind of thing alone, and I'm sitting in church right now, I had to run to the old MW unabridged. The corrupted word is sumpsimus: "we take", as in talking communion. Edit: apologies to @drpaladin He already said it 😳. If it helps, the cognate in English is "consume" 

Two other Latin Mass phrases are corrupted to expressions that evoke magical nonsense: 

Hoc est corpus: this is the body, which is the culmination of the Eucharistic rite

Pater noster qui erit in coeli: Our Father who art in heaven.

Do you know what the magic words are?

Edited by Leslie Lofton
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JamesSavik

When you are born and raised in the South, sometimes it’s difficult to shake some of the mumpsimus of our culture. Honor codes, expected manners and beliefs we are raised with make us feel a bit like aliens in a culture that seems defined by no culture at all.

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Leslie Lofton

Hold on to your mumpsimus. Here come the answers.

Hocus Pocus is a derogatory corruption of Hoc est corpus

A paternoster is a magic spell, amulet or charm. To patter is to make a soft rhythmic noise, such as mindless praying. patter patter patter...

7 hours ago, JamesSavik said:

born and raised in the South

So was I, but being Catholic, continuously broke, cousinless, half-northerner, and an NPR listener, I was an outsider. We were always running up against our grandparents' mumpsimuses because Mother (I call my mother Mother, like Norman Bates) didn't learn us proper.

 

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