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.
Anguish - means "excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain."  Derived from the Latin noun angustia meaning "tightness or narrowing," which itself is derived from the Latin verb anguere, meaning "to throttle or torment."  Both of these words may possibly be related to the Latin noun anguis, which means "serpent, snake" (All information is from www.wikipedia.org, www.etymonline.com and/or www.dictionary.com).

RELATED WORDS/PHRASES – angst, angina (heart condition), anxious, anger
Sample sentence – "Cleveland baseball fans may never get over the anguish of the 2016 World Series."  

ABBREVIATION OF THE WEEK:  R.I.P. (Requiescat in Pace) - R.I.P. in Latin means "may he rest in peace," which is where we get the English translation of this same abbreviation.  Requiescat is a hortatory subjunctive verb and in pace is an ablative of place where phrase.  This abbreviation is often seen on tombstones.

GUESS THE APHORISM:  The buck stops... (scroll for the answer)
 
                                                                      
































...here.
(Sign on Harry S. Truman's desk in the White House)