probity

Pronounced: PRO-buh-tee, noun

Notes: This is kind of a “cheating” entry; I know this word, but I don’t know how well-known it it. I’ve run across it in some older English reading.

---

Yesterday’s word

The word Marinism means “a literary style marked by extravagant imagery, elaborate metaphors, etc.”

First usage

This word showed up in the mid-1800s

Background / Comments

This word is named after a person (which is why it is capitalized), the Italian poet Giovanni Battista Marino who wrote in this baroque style. He was considered “the” reference for this kind of writing while it was popular. In the 1700s, this kind of poetry fell out of favor, and his work was considered to be the perfect example of Baroque bad taste. In the latter part of the 20th century, his word has undergone a re-evaluation, and it is not viewed to negatively these days.