This meme was created by RachelKiwi over at She is too fond of books and it has addled her brain. Last week she decided that Fridays should be dedicated to logophilia. Logophilia is “the love of words” for all of you without a dictionary close at hand.
Posts are dedicated to either a new word you found in your reading this week, a juicy quote, or a general need to share your vocabulary ability. ‘Cause you know you’ve been dying to show off your reading skills since that final time you took your SAT’s.
Without Further Ado…My Word:
Exsanguinated
My word this week comes from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
Quote:
“There is a complicated-looking lock holding the gates shut, and a small sign that reads:
Gates Open at Nightfall & Close at Dawn
in swirly lettering, and under that, in tiny plain letters:
Trespassers Will Be Exsanguinated
Bailey doesn’t know what “exsanguinated” means, but he doesn’t much like the sound of it.” (54, eBook ed.)
Well wouldn’t you know, I agreed with Bailey…I didn’t know what it meant either. So I did what Bailey couldn’t do during the 1800 [the time in which the book is set] I Googled it.
Exsanguinated:
-
To bleed to death (a.k.a. bleeding out)
-
The fatal process of hypovolemia (blood loss), to a degree sufficient to cause death.
Interesting Facts Garnered while Researching the Word:
- One does not have to lose all of one’s blood to cause death. Losing 1/2 to 2/3 will suffice.
- It’s currently a practice used in animal slaughter…See the following excerpt from Wikipedia:
Exsanguination is used as a method of slaughter where, before the incision is made, the animal, depending on species, is rendered insensible to pain by various methods, including captive bolt, electricity or chemical. Without prior sedation, stunning or anesthetic, this method of slaughter causes a high degree of anxiety and should not be used alone.
Thanks for the tip Wikipedia. When submitting someone [something?] to a torturous death, I always look for a way to ease their anxiety…It’s why I teach and practice yoga. *eye-roll*
Good thing the short article goes on to explain:
Exsanguination is a relatively uncommon and dramatic cause of death in humans.
I like the addition of “dramatic”…Makes me think that I may or may not have seen this very process on Grey’s Anatomy in years past. Sometime after Lizzie (when she was on the show) saved that Deer in the back of a pick-up? Surely that’s not what the Deer was dying of…It all gets a little hazy, and might I add Dramatic, after that point.
Anyway, though this makes for a slightly gruesome first entry for this meme. It was the first word I’ve looked up all week. So there you have it. Use knives carefully to avoid exsanguination. Also, don’t jump the gates of The Night Circus for the same reason. Happily enjoy the word play from the safety of your favorite reading spot 😉
Haha. I like it. Not the meaning of the word, but your post. that sounds like a very cruel method to use in killing an animal! Horrible!
This is pure greatness. I was just thinking I needed to start a SAT Word meme. I will just have to tag along. My daughter has a beautiful vocabulary, because her mother encouraged her to read, read, read…but not the mamma.
Join us! Pretty Please 😉
Such a gruesome word right?! I like this meme 🙂
It’s a fun meme right? And my first word is bloody to say the least 😉
Fun. I heard that word a lot at work, although it wasn’t ever fun when I was in L&D. Still, it was fun in this book. BTW, I’m SUPER GLAD you’re reading it. I hope you love it half as much as I did. I’m listening to it now on audio and it is like falling in love with it again for the first time, although that has NOTHING to do with your word or your meme.
I digress. 😉
I am LOVING this book. I know that everyone was going on and on about how beautifully it was written…but actually doing it, so delicious!