Brewer's: Anathema

A denunciation or curse. The word is Greek, and means to place, or set up, in allusion to the mythological custom of hanging in the temple of a patron god something devoted to him. Thus Gordius hung

up his yoke and beam; the shipwrecked hung up their wet clothes; workmen retired from business hung up their tools, etc. Hence anything set apart for destruction; and so, set apart from the Church as under a curse.

Me tabula sacer Votiva paries indicat uvida Suspendisse potenti Vestimenta maris deo.

Horace: Odes (v. 13–16).

Horace, having escaped the love-snares of Pyrrha, hangs up his votive tablet, as one who has escaped the dangers of the sea.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language