mumpsimus

English

WOTD – 1 April 2007

Etymology

Malapropism of Latin sumpsimus,^[1] form of sūmō (“I take”), from a story of an old monk who misrecited the Eucharist with quod in ōre mumpsimus instead of quod in ōre sumpsimus “which we have taken into the mouth”, and stubbornly continued using the incorrect form even after being corrected. Attested 1530 in The Practice of Prelates by William Tyndale, variously attributed to Richard Pace (1517) or Desiderius Erasmus.^[2]

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmʌmpsɪməs/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

Noun

mumpsimus (plural mumpsimuses)

1. A person who obstinately adheres to old ways in spite of clear evidence that they are wrong; an ignorant and bigoted opponent of reform.
2. An obvious error that is obstinately repeated despite correction.

Antonyms

• sumpsimus

See also

• Thesaurus:obstinacy

References

1. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
2. Michael Quinion (March 17, 2001) “Mumpsimus”, in World Wide Words.