maundy
/ˈmɑn.di/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The ceremony of washing the feet of poor persons or inferiors, performed as a religious rite on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of Christ's washing the disciples' feet at the Last Supper.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The office appointed to be read during the religious ceremony of foot-washing.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
Etymology
From Middle English maundee, maunde, from Old French mandée (“mandated”), from Latin mandatum (“commandment”). Doublet of mandate. The word came to refer to the foot-washing ceremony performed on Thursday before Easter because of the phrase used by Jesus to explain his act of foot-washing, which in the Latin Vulgate begins: Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem ..., i.e. "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another …" (John 13:34).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: maundee, mandée, mandatum
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑn.di/
- British English: /ˈmɔːn.di/