animadvert

English

WOTD – 17 September 2017

Etymology

From Latin animadvertō, from Latin animum (mind) (accusative singular of animus (mind; soul; life force), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos (breath), from *h₂enh₁- (to breathe)) + Latin advertō (to turn to) (from Latin ad- (prefix meaning ‘to’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (at; near) + Latin vertō (to turn), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wértti (to be turning around)).

Pronunciation

Verb

animadvert (third-person singular simple present animadverts, present participle animadverting, simple past and past participle animadverted)

  1. (intransitive) To criticise, to censure.
    • 1897, Henry James, chapter XVI, in What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., OCLC 318438930, page 207:
      "Her" of course at Beale Farange's had never meant any one but Ida, and there was the difference in this case that it now meant Ida with renewed intensity. Mrs. Beale was in a position strikingly to animadvert more and more upon her dreadfulness, the moral of all which appeared to be how abominably yet blessedly little she had to do with her husband.
    • 1922, [Edward Sapir], “Gilbert Murray, Tradition and Progress. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922 [book review].”, in Scofield Taylor, editor, The Dial, volume 73, New York, N.Y.: Dial Pub. Co., OCLC 34164661, page 355; reprinted in “Review of Gilbert Murray, Tradition and Progress”, in Regna Darnell and Judith T. Irvine, editors, The Collected Works of Edward Sapir, volume III (Culture), Berlin; London: Mouton de Gruyter, Walter de Gruyter, 1999, →ISBN, page 766:
      Professor [Gilbert] Murray oscillates rather comfortably between optimism and despair, makes the usual high-souled march along the smooth ridge of English liberalism, animadverts feelingly on the elements of wickedness and goodness in contemporary politics, and is careful to put in the parentheses needed to prevent a charge of excessive radicalism.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To consider.
  3. (intransitive, law, archaic) To turn judicial attention (to); to criticise or punish.
    • 1837, “Law Proceedings”, in The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle, for 1837. A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., Stationers' Hall Court, OCLC 889950828, page 269:
    • 1853 October 1, “Art. I. State of Lunacy in England.”, in Forbes Winslow, editor, The Journal of Psychological Medicine and Mental Pathology, volume VI, number XXIV, London: John Churchill, Princes Street, Soho, OCLC 793593673, pages 475–476:
      [T]he attention of the Board in New-street, Spring-gardens, was in vain called to the petinacious obstinacy of these justices, until, wearied with official correspondence, and "having no reasonable expectation," they state, "that any steps would be taken by the committee of visiting justices to the remedy of the manifest defects," upon which they had animadverted, they inform us that they had recourse to the dernier ressort—an appeal to the Secretary of State []

Derived terms

Translations

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