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Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 17:06:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: wsmith@wordsmith.org
To: linguaphile@wordsmith.org
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--murdrum
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murdrum (MUR-drum) noun

   1. The killing of a human being in a secret manner.

   2. The fine payable to the king by the hundred where such a killing
      occurred, unless the killer was produced or the victim proved to
      be a Saxon.

[From Medieval Latin, from Old French, murdre, murder.]

   "[F]or the unsolved murders of Frenchmen, they inflicted a particularly
   punitive version of the long-lasting murdrum fine ..."
   Saint George for England.
   Rebecca Colman, Saint George for England, Contemporary Review, Apr 1997.

Did you notice that today's word is a palindrome? Two other palindromic
words have made the AWAD list so far: minim and Nauruan.           -Anu

This week's theme: words that make one say, I didn't know there was a word
for that.

.............................................................................
Nowadays, people can be divided into three classes - the Haves, the
Have-Nots, and the Have-Not-Paid-for-What-They-Haves. -Earl Wilson, newspaper
columnist (1907-1987)

Looking for a word previously featured in AWAD? An alphabetical index is
available at http://wordsmith.org/awad/wordlist.html . For the chronological
archives, visit http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html.  Send mail to
wsmith@wordsmith.org to get archives by email.

Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/murdrum.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/murdrum.ram