Word of the Day : December 11, 2018

immure \ih-MYOOR\ verb

Definition

1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls

b : imprison

2 : to build into a wall; especially : to entomb in a wall

Did You Know?

Like mural, immure comes from murus, a Latin noun that means "wall." Immurare, a Medieval Latin verb, was formed from murus and the prefix in- (meaning "in" or "within"). Immure, which first appeared in English in the late 16th century, literally means "to wall in" or "to enclose with a wall," but it has extended meanings as well. In addition to senses meaning "to imprison" and "to entomb," the word sometimes has broader applications, essentially meaning "to shut in" or "to confine." One might remark, for example, that a very studious acquaintance spends most of her time "immured in the library" or that a withdrawn teenager "immures himself in his bedroom every night."

Aired December 11, 2018

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