mumpsimus

mump·si·mus

M m

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [muhmp-suh-muh s]
- /ˈmʌmp sə məs/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [muhmp-suh-muh s]
- /ˈmʌmp sə məs/

Definitions of mumpsimus word

noun plural mumpsimus adherence to or persistence in an erroneous use of language, memorization, practice, belief, etc., out of habit or obstinacy (opposed to sumpsimus). 1
noun plural mumpsimus a person who persists in a mistaken expression or practice (opposed to sumpsimus). 1
noun mumpsimus A traditional custom or notion adhered to although shown to be unreasonable. 1
noun mumpsimus a traditional notion that is obstinately retained despite being unreasonable 0
noun mumpsimus a person who adheres to such a notion 0

See all 5 definitions of mumpsimus

Information block about the term

Origin of mumpsimus

First appearance:

before 1520

One of the 28% oldest English words

1520-30; from a story, which perhaps originated with Erasmus, of an illiterate priest who said mumpsimus rather than sūmpsimus (1st plural perfect indicative of Latin sūmere to pick up; see consume) while reciting the liturgy, and refused to change the word when corrected

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Mumpsimus

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Mumpsimus

mumpsimus popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 48% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

mumpsimus usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer