Pronounced: TORE-pid, adj
Notes: I was somewhat familiar with the word, but not completely
Yesterday’s word
The word visceral means
- felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body
- not intellectual; instinctive
- located on or among the internal organs of the body
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1500s
Background / Comments
I am most familiar with the first definition; it is used in this sense for something felt “deep down”, and it turns out that this meaning is the most common usage of our word. I could have guessed at the second meaning, but I was unfamiliar with the third meaning. The word viscera refers to the internal organs of the body; especially the heart, liver, and intestines. It comes from the Latin word viscera, where it has the same meaning. Something visceral, therefore, has to do with the “viscera”.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 