mumpsimus
[ muhmp-suh-muh s ]
/ ˈmʌmp sə məs /
noun, plural mump·si·mus·es for 2.
Origin of mumpsimus
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
Words nearby mumpsimus
mump,
mumps,
mumps skin test antigen,
mumps virus,
mumps virus vaccine,
mumpsimus,
mumsy,
mumu,
mun.,
munch,
munchausen
Example sentences from the Web for mumpsimus
Mumpsimus, mump′si-mus, n. an error to which one clings after it has been thoroughly exposed.
We are not going to change our old 'mumpsimus' for anybody's new 'sumpsimus.'
Res Judicat |Augustine BirrellMr. Beckford called the beast, or reptile, a mumpsimus (sic).
Recollections of the late William Beckford |Henry Venn Lansdown