http://ersatz-read.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] ersatz-read.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1word1day2017-03-28 10:33 am

Monday-ish word: ordure

ordure (ôr′jər), noun

1. excrement, dung
2. something regarded as being morally offensive

Etymology:  from old French ord, filthy, which came from Latin horridus, frightful.  Think 'horrid'.

For some reason, I keep thinking 'ordure' is related to 'odor'.  It isn't.  But when I think of the word, I think of "the odor of excrement"...which at any rate gets me to the right visceral reaction to go with the word's actual meaning.

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