frumentation

/ˌfɹuː.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/

Etymology

From Latin frūmentātiō.

frumentation means the distribution of corn to the people (especially to appease them during agitation for social or political change). Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

frumentation is pronounced /ˌfɹuː.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/.

Why “frumentation” is a great word

FRUMENTATION — [Noun] The public distribution of grain, especially as a political measure to placate unrest or secure loyalty. From Latin frūmentātiōn-em, from frūmentum ("grain, corn"). First attested in English in 1623. Unlike annona (which denotes the vast, administrative machinery of the Roman grain supply) or dole (a generic charitable handout lacking calculated intent), frumentation is the precise, cynical act of trading sustenance for silence. It is the measured pour of wheat into a beggar's sack, the calculated unloading of state-owned barges at a restless city's docks, and the temporary hush that falls over a hungry mob as the first loaves are broken—the ancient understanding that a hungry people is a hinge on which empires swing.

noun

The distribution of corn to the people (especially to appease them during agitation for social or political change)