- Today's Word
Enmity
EN-muh-tee
Definition
- (noun) Deep-seated hostility, hatred, or ill will, especially between rivals or enemies.
Example
The long-standing enmity between the two feuding families had lasted for generations.
Fun Fact
“Enmity” comes from the Old French enmiteit, which evolved from the Latin inimicus, meaning “enemy.” Unlike fleeting anger, enmity suggests a lasting, often mutual animosity—think of classic literary rivalries like Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty or historical conflicts like the Hatfields and McCoys. Interestingly, enmity can also exist in milder forms, such as friendly sports rivalries, where competition breeds respect alongside opposition.
(verb) To officially forbid something, especially by law or authority; to condemn or prohibit as harmful or unacceptable.
The new administration moved quickly to proscribe several previously tolerated practices, leaving industries scrambling to interpret exactly what compliance now required.
Proscribe derives from the Latin proscribere, meaning “to publish in writing” — from pro- (“before” or “publicly”) and scribere (“to write”). In ancient Rome, proscription was a formal public notice posted in the forum listing the names of enemies of the state — men whose property was forfeit and whose killers would be rewarded. To be proscribed was to be publicly condemned and stripped of all legal protection. The word’s journey from “publicly written” to “officially forbidden” traces directly through this brutal Roman practice.