And today’s OED Word-of-the-Day, in honor (or honour!) of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
maleficium, n. : Oxford English Dictionary. (Plural maleficia.)
The OED informs us the English “maleficium” comes from the classical Latin, maleficium, meaning evil deed, injury, sorcery.
The first definition offered for the English “maleficium” is: “An act of witchcraft performed with the intention of causing damage or injury; the resultant harm; (also) the power of Satan (rare). Now hist.”
Definition 1.b. is: “A potion or poison, used esp. in witchcraft.”
There are some great examples of the use of maleficium over the years. Drop by the OED in the next day or so to see the full entry.
In the meantime avoid any Death Eaters or other perpetrators of maleficia!
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That’s a word I wasn’t familiar with! Thanks for sharing it; learning new words is always a pleasure to me.
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