Saint Ignatius High School

Etymology Word of the Week

As some of you know, in addition to being the Director of Admissions, Pat O'Rourke '90 also teaches Latin at Saint Ignatius and is a self-proclaimed "word nerd." Here is his latest Etymology Word of the Week.
Immaculate - "spotlessly clean; free from moral blemish or impurity." From the Latin prefix im/in meaning "not" and the Latin participle maculatus, a, um meaning "spotted or defiled."  (All information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com).

RELATED WORDS/PHRASESmacula lutea (part of the retina - lutea means "yellow," and macula means "spot") as in the medical condition "macular degeneration"

Sample sentence – “My grandmother used to vacuum her house 5 times a week.  I defy anyone to find a speck or mote of dust in there - the place was immaculate!"  

*Today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In this week's Lessons from Loyola Hall, Theology teacher Tom Healey '77 explains the meaning behind this holy day of obligation.


ABBREVIATION OF THE WEEK:  Q.E.D. is short for Quod Erat Demonstrandum, which translates to "what was to be shown."  Often used at the end of mathematical proofs such as in Geometry classes.  Quod is the neuter nominative singular relative pronoun.  Demonstrandum Erat is a passive periphrastic, a phrase that suggests obligation or necessity.   Demonstrandum is a gerundive that modifies the pronoun Quod; Erat is a linking verb (form of "to be").

GUESS THE APHORISM OF THE WEEK: To err is human...  (scroll down for the answer)



























...to forgive, divine.  - Quote is by Alexander Pope