24 April 2014

eschew

[es-choo]

verb (used with object)

– to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid: to eschew evil.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English eschewen < Old French eschiver, eschever < Germanic; compare Old High German sciuhen, German scheuchen, shy2

Related forms
es·chew·al, noun
es·chew·er, noun
un·es·chewed, adjective

Synonyms
circumvent, boycott; forgo.

Today’s aphorism

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.

– Voltaire

On this day

24 April 1581 – birth of St Vincent de Paul, Catholic priest, born in France, who dedicated himself to serving the poor. Died 27 September 1660.

24 April 1915 – arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Istanbul, Turkey, leads to the Armenian Genocide. It is estimated that the Ottoman Empire massacred between 1 million and 1.5 million Armenians.

24 April 1933 – Hitler begins persecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. Around 10,000 Witnesses were incarcerated during Hitler’s reign, with approximately 1,200 dying in custody, including 250 who were executed.