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Sep 28, 2010
This week's theme
Words related to censorship

This week's words
fatwa
custos morum
excommunicate
euphemism
samizdat

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

custos morum

PRONUNCIATION:
(KOOS-tohs MOH-room, -ruhm)

MEANING:
noun: A guardian of morals; censor.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin custos morum (guardian of morals, laws, etc.).

USAGE:
"A self-righteous soul can identify himself as custos morum."
William Safire; Delicious Delicto; The New York Times; Mar 30, 1986.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
No iron spike can pierce a human heart as icily as a period in the right place. -Isaac Babel, author (1894-1940)

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