15 February 2016
anathema
[uh-nath-uh-muh]
noun, plural anathemas.
1. a person or thing detested or loathed:
That subject is anathema to him.
2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.
3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.
4. any imprecation of divine punishment.
5. a curse; execration.
Origin of anathema
Latin
1520-1530; < Latin < Greek: a thing accursed, devoted to evil, orig. devoted, equivalent to ana (ti) thé (nai) to set up + -ma noun suffix
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for anathema
Contemporary Examples
That annoying responsibility stuff comes from three words that are anathema to the Tea Partiers: United American citizenry.
Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&’s Sake!
Stephen King
April 29, 2012
In his opinion, the “path to citizenship” for immigrants, which is anathema to many conservatives, is absolutely essential.
Cardinal O’Malley: Pope Francis Knows Immigrants Are the Future of the Church
Christopher Dickey
June 3, 2014
The occasional yellow or red was acceptable, but the suggestion of a blue dress was met with distress, and brown was anathema.
Why I Finally Let My Girls Be Girly
Andy Hinds
May 16, 2014
Historical Examples
Jackson was told that a pipe was anathema maranatha, which is Greek for no bon.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Sept. 12, 1917
Various
He even pronounced his anathema upon any who taught other doctrine.
A Tour of the Missions
Augustus Hopkins Strong
I wish I could give you an idea, madame, of the tone and expression of Sallenauve as he uttered this anathema.
The Deputy of Arcis
Honore de Balzac
Anagram
a mean hat
Today’s quote
I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.
– Nelson Mandela
On this day
15 February 1989 – the last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan after a 10 year occupation referred to as the Soviet Union’s ‘Vietnam’. The Soviets had invaded on 24 December 1979 in response to Afghan insurgents (armed by the United States) who had been attacking Soviet troops. The occupation lasts for 10 years and results in the deaths of between 600,000 and 2,000,000 Afghan civilians, as well as 6,000,000 refugees who fled to Pakistan and Iran. The cost of the Afghan occupation is a significant factor that led to the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Soviet occupation, the United States funded Afghan resistance in the form of the Mujahideen and other militant Islamic groups, out of whom emerged Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Afghan people continue to suffer and to comprise a significant portion of global refugee numbers because of the involvement of the USSR and the USA during this period.