mansuetude

May. 5th, 2011 07:29 am
[identity profile] prettygoodword.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] 1word1day
mansuetude (MAN-swi-tood) - n., gentleness, mildness.


The quality or state of being tame. Yes, really. This is best explained by etymology: borrowed in the 14th century (either directly or through Middle French) from Latin mansuētūdō, from the past participle of mānsuēscere, to tame, from manus, hand + suēscere, to accustom, habituate -- the image here being breaking a horse.

After getting married, Rocky settled into the mansuetude of domesticity with startling ease.

---L.
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