Word of the Day – Mumpsimus

Mumpsimus (noun)

mump-sim-us

Adherence to or persistence in an erroneous use of language, memorization, practice, belief, etc., out of habit or obstinacy

First recorded in 1520–30; from a story, perhaps originating with Erasmus, of an illiterate Catholic priest who, while saying the postcommunion prayer at Mass, said mumpsimus rather than sūmpsimus (1st-person plural perfect of Latin sūmere “to take, take up”): “Quod ōre sūmpsimus, Domine, pūrā mente capiāmus” (“What we have taken by mouth, O Lord, may we keep with a pure mind”) and refused to change the word when corrected; consume ( def )

Example sentences

“My mother insists on telling her friends I’m good at antidotes, not anecdotes, thanks to her mumpsimus, everyone thinks I’m a doctor!”