compurgatrix
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Example Sentences
- "Thou Pill too ſrong for fate! in whoſe defence / Mira'cles ſtept in to reſscue innocence. / Death was thy Ordeall, and Compurgatrix / And Minos did thy Judges doome refix."
- "Who courted you? Did I? No, Heaven knows / 'Twas otherwiſe: If not; you Madam can / Be my compurgatrix: Nor think it ſtrange"
- "At Belynges Parva Alice Fynne is charged with using 'magical art,' for when Andrew her husband died, he asserted that his death was due to her superstitious art. She produces four women as "compurgatrices" and is dismissed."
- "Sarra, wife of William Beyonde Toune, had acted as compurgatrix for Clarence de Upcote, accused of counterfeiting a key to a rectory granary."
- "When the widow falls pregnant, the neighbours are convinced they know who is responsible. Both Henry Packer and the widow accordingly find themselves in court. The widow produces sufficient compurgatrices. Henry Packer, however, fails to gather enough support; instead he confesses and is ordered to do penance alone."
Etymology
From Latin compurgatrix, equivalent to compurgator (“someone who vouches for another person's innocence”) + -trix (female agent noun-forming suffix).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: compurgatrix
- Suffix: compurgator
Inflected Forms
Synonyms
compurgatress