suovetaurilia means A religious rite of Ancient Rome, the triple sacrifice of a pig, a ram, and a bull to the deity Mars in order to bless and purify land. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “suovetaurilia” is a great word
SUOVETAURILIA — [Noun] An ancient Roman public purification rite wherein a pig, a ram, and a bull were led in solemn procession and then sacrificed simultaneously to the god Mars. The word is an unadapted borrowing from Latin suovetaurīlia, a compound of sūs ("swine, pig"), ovis ("sheep"), and taurus ("bull"). Unlike a general lustratio (which might employ simple water or a circuit) or its variant solitaurilia, the suovetaurilia is defined by this precise, triple offering. It was the low grunt of the swine, the dense curl of the ram’s fleece, and the great, nodding bulk of the bull moving together toward the altar—the three distinct bloods mingling in a single trench, a stark arithmetic of atonement meant to fortify a line against chaos.
noun
- A religious rite of Ancient Rome, the triple sacrifice of a pig, a ram, and a bull to the deity Mars in order to bless and purify land.