Pronounced: WHIFF-tea, adj
Notes: Another word that I have not heard about
Yesterday’s phrase
The phrase dead hand means
- the stifling influence of something, especially of the past on the present
- the perpetual ownership of property by institutions, such as churches
First usage
Our phrase came into English in the early 1600s
Background / Comments
I knew the first definition from reading; it is used in the original Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I think I have run across it elsewhere; I have an idea I’ve run across it discussing a controlling will or trust account. The other definition is not one that I knew about. Our word is a literal translation of the term “mortmain” (which also looked a bit familiar to me).
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 