The Word of the Day for Feb 09 is:
animus \AN-uh-muss\ noun
1 : basic attitude or governing spirit : disposition, intention
*2 : a usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will
3 : an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung
Example sentence:
Barney's deep-seated animus towards doctors dates back to when his first wife left him for one.
Did you know?
"Animus" has long referred to the rational or "animating" components of a person's psyche (it derives from the Latin "animus," which can mean "spirit," "mind," "courage," or "anger"). Since a key "animating" component of personality can be temper, the word came to mean "animosity," especially ill will driven by strong prejudice. As you might expect, the English "animus" is closely related to words such as "animosity," "magnanimous," and "unanimous," but you might be surprised to learn that it is not as closely related to other similar-looking terms such as "animal" and "animate." Those latter terms derive from the Latin "anima," a distinct term that means "soul" or "breath" and that suggests someone's physical vitality or life force — the breath of life.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
My sentence:
I think my animus is working overtime today.
Animus is not the same as animagus from Harry Potter.
Posted by: lakkris | February 11, 2004 at 10:04 AM
Dentists? Bah. Put a stake through all of their black hearts! Er...not like I have dentist issues or anything. :> Hey, I have sesitive teeth, ok???
Posted by: Anne | February 10, 2004 at 01:41 PM
LOL, Rose.
Posted by: Cyn | February 10, 2004 at 03:03 AM
People mistake my animus, my masculine qualities, for steriods...
Posted by: Rose | February 09, 2004 at 11:36 PM