malediction
/ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/
malediction · noun — A curse. It carries an Arena rating of 1713, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, malediction ranks #213 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #529 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #2,016 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,310 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words.
malediction is pronounced /ˌmæl.əˈdɪk.ʃən/.
Why “malediction” is a great word
A formal utterance spoken with the intent of inflicting harm, calling down ruin, or willing ill fate upon another. From the Latin maledictiō ("curse, slander"), from malus ("bad, evil") + dictiō ("speaking, speech"), from dīcō ("to say"), first attested in English in the late 15th century. Unlike a benediction, which bestows grace as its holy opposite, or an imprecation, which bursts forth in hot, spontaneous fury, a malediction carries the colder weight of ritual and calculated architecture. It is the precise whisper in a royal court that dooms a rival line, the ancient formula carved into lead and buried in a field, the chill finality of excommunication pronounced from a high altar—the profound and terrible belief that language, properly shaped, can fracture a soul and cast a permanent shadow.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From late Middle English malediccion, from Middle French malédiction, from Latin maledictiō (“curse”) from malus (“evil”) + dictiō (“speech”) noun of action from perfect passive participle dictus (“spoken”), from verb dīcō (“speak”).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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