ustrinum means the site of a funeral pyre. It carries an Arena rating of 1264, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ustrinum ranks #750 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #906 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,770 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,095 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
Why “ustrinum” is a great word
The designated plot of earth where a funeral pyre is constructed and a body consumed by flames, from the Latin ustrinum, itself from urere (“to burn”). Unlike a bustum, which denotes the site where ashes are both created and interred, or a sepulcrum, a broad term for any tomb, the ustrinum is the stage for the act of burning alone. It is the rectangle of scorched earth, cleared of grass; the precise geometry of stacked timber awaiting its terrible duty; the stark, ashen circle that remains after the flames have consumed both fuel and flesh—a location defined entirely by an absence.
Etymology
From Latin ustrinum.
noun
- The site of a funeral pyre.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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