A WORD A DAY.
ANATHEMA. In the usual sense of a curse or malediction this word is pronounced a-nath-e-ma, with the first and last a’s as in sofa, second as in hat, e as in descend; when designating a sacred offering it is sounded an-a-the-ma, with secondary stress on the first syllable, and with first a as in hat, second and third as in sofa, e as in key. This word is an English respelling of the Greek anathema, literally “a thing devoted,” especially to evil, and hence a curse. The roots are ana, "up” and Jithemi, “I lay, place, put;” the illusion is to the mythological custom of putting up in the temple of a patron diety something offered to him—hence anything set apart for destruction. Example: “The anathemas of the wets were hurled at him.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST19321007.2.76
Bibliographic details
Southland Times, Issue 21831, 7 October 1932, Page 8
Word Count
137A WORD A DAY. Southland Times, Issue 21831, 7 October 1932, Page 8
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