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Word of the Day:
LUSTRUM (n. pl. LUSTRUMS or LUSTRA)
Definition(s):
- (n.) a period of five years
- (n.) a ceremonial purification of the ancient Roman population after the census every five years
Useful info for word game players:
- Front hooks: (none)
- Back hooks: -S
- Anagrams: (none)
- Longer extensions: (none)
- Wraparounds: (none)
- Other Spellings: (none)
- Related Forms: LUSTRAL (adj.), LUSTRATE (v.), LUSTRATION (n.)
Epilogue:
The ancient Romans held a census every few years, the primary purpose of which was to identify men capable of bearing arms. After the census, a purification ceremony known as a LUSTRUM or LUSTRATION was performed. The ceremony included the sacrificing of a boar (sus), sheep (ovis), and bull (taurus), a ritual known as the suovetaurilia. Because the census was normally conducted every five years, the word LUSTRUM came to refer to any five-year period, as it usually does today.
The word LUSTRUM and its variations derive from the Latin lustrare (“to brighten, or to purify”), which is also source of words such as LUSTER and ILLUSTRATION. Turning to other Latin roots, an even fancier word for a five-year period is QUINQUENNIUM, a combination of quinque (“five”) and annus (“year”).
Recounting this week’s featured words:
CHILIAD, LAKH, ALGORISM, and LUSTRUM
Also mentioned:
ALGEBRA, ALGORITHM, CHILIASM, CHILIARCH, CRORE, ILLUSTRATION, KILO (and KILO- words), LUSTER, LUSTRATION, MILLION, QUINQUENNIUM, and RUPEE
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