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Apr 11, 2006
This week's theme
Death and taxes

This week's words
publican
thanatopsis
impost
anabiosis
capitation

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

thanatopsis

(than-uh-TOP-sis) Pronunciation Sound Clip

noun: A reflection upon death.

[From Greek thanatos (death) + -opsis (appearance, view).]

Thanatos is the Greek personification of death; thanatophobia is an abnormal fear of death. Thanatopsis is the title of an acclaimed poem by poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878).

"Subject to constant death threats, Dr. [Martin Luther] King 'had a thread of thanatopsis, a preoccupation of his death.' It blistered through his oratory. Canaan portrays a man aware his time would be brief and despairing of realizing his dreams."
The Philadelphia Inquirer; King Chronicler to Speak at Free Library; Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News; Jan 24, 2005.

X-Bonus

The horse is not judged by the saddle. -German proverb

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