defenestration
Americannoun
-
the act of throwing a person or thing out of a window.
The defenestration of the Catholic commissioners in Prague precipitated the Thirty Years’ War.
-
the act of suddenly removing someone from an important position or office.
When the new corporate board was voted in, there was a massive defenestration of high-level executives.
noun
Etymology
Origin of defenestration
First recorded in 1610–20; de- + Latin fenestr(a) “window” + -ation
Explanation
Defenestration is a word for the act of throwing something or someone out of a window. Yes, there's actually a word for that. Fenestra is the Latin word for window. So that's how we came up with defenestration, the frighteningly specific word for throwing someone out a window. Perhaps you've heard of the famous Defenestration of Prague, which helped launch the 30 Years' War? If not, don't worry. This isn't a word you'll need to use very often, unless there are a lot of people and things being tossed out of the windows in your life.
Vocabulary lists containing defenestration
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That was a much-needed element of the time, creating short-lived bands like Sugarcoma and Defenestration.
From The Guardian • May 9, 2017
Jeter reimagines American history with The Paine Defenestration: “Reason just flew out the window.”
From Slate • Aug. 20, 2012
A heated scene in the Council Chamber of the Castle of Prague ended in what is described as the "Act of Defenestration."
From From a Terrace in Prague by Baker, Lieut.-Col. B. Granville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
