rustication

American  

[ruhs-ti-key-shuhn] / ˌrʌs tɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Also called rustic work.  Architecture. any of various forms of ashlar so dressed and tooled that the visible faces are raised above or otherwise contrasted with the horizontal and usually the vertical joints.

2. the act of a person or thing that rusticates.

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Etymology

Origin of rustication

First recorded in 1615–25, rustication is from the Latin word rūsticātiōn- (stem of rūsticātiō ). See rusticate, -ion

Explanation

When you pack up your city apartment and move to the country, you can call it rustication — it's a term that can have positive or negative associations, depending on how excited you are about living in the boonies. The noun rustication is good for what your grandfather did when he retired to a rural town to become a gentleman farmer. You can also describe your grudging attendance at a summer camp deep in the Maine woods as your own rustication. Whether by choice or banishment, rustication is a move to the countryside. The Latin root is rusticus, "open land or country."

Example Sentences

It was brought home to him, and the president, who had laughed in his sleeve at the practical joke, looked very grave at the falsehood; Rustication was talked of and even Expulsion.

From Foul Play by Reade, Charles

Rustication is not much employed, and the vast but simple crowning cornices of the Italian palaces are never made use of.

From Architecture Gothic and Renaissance by Smith, T. Roger (Thomas Roger)

Rustication saved him perhaps in the sense that it detached him; it undermined his ambitions, which had been foolish. 

From Lady Barbarina The Siege of London, An International Episode and Other Tales by James, Henry

More serious offences are met by "Rustication," for a Term or a year, during which the offender may not show himself in Cambridge, and, in extreme cases, by expulsion from the University altogether.

From Highways and Byways in Cambridge and Ely by Conybeare, Edward