defenestration
pronunciation
How to pronounce defenestration in British English:
UK [,diːfenɪ'streɪʃ(ə)n]
How to pronounce defenestration in American English:
US [ di,fɛnə'streʃən]
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- Noun:
- the act of throwing someone or something out of a window
Word Origin
- defenestration (n.)
- 1620, "the action of throwing out of a window," from Latin fenestra "window" (see fenestration). A word invented for one incident: the "Defenestration of Prague," May 21, 1618, when two Catholic deputies to the Bohemian national assembly and a secretary were tossed out the window (into a moat) of the castle of Hradshin by Protestant radicals. It marked the start of the Thirty Years War. Some linguists link fenestra with Greek verb phainein "to show;" others see in it an Etruscan borrowing, based on the suffix -(s)tra, as in Latin loan-words aplustre "the carved stern of a ship with its ornaments," genista "the plant broom," lanista "trainer of gladiators." Related: Defenestrate (1915); defenestrated (1620).
Example
- 1. His defenestration seems to be a matter of time .
- 2. So long as he continues to uphold constitutional government and respect human rights , the defenestration of the generals should be welcomed , for no democracy can thrive while the armed forces hold most of the power .