Pronounced: pro-ROHG, verb
Notes: Looks like being for a thief
Yesterday’s phrase
The phrase tabula rasa means
- the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions
- something existing in its original pristine state
First usage
Our phrase came into English in the mid-1500s
Background / Comments
There is an ancient idea that babies are born with completely blank minds – that state has been known as tabula rasa, which came from a Latin phrase meaning “smooth or erased tablet”. Over time, a more figurative meaning (the second one) came into usage.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 