disjecta membra

[ dis-jek-tuh mem-bruh ]

/ dɪsˈdʒɛk tə ˈmɛm brə /

plural noun

scattered members; disjointed portions or parts: applied to fragments of poetry or fragmentary quotations.

Nearby words

disinvestment, disinvite, disinvolvement, disjasked, disject, disjecta membra, disjoin, disjoined, disjoint, disjointed, disjunct

Origin of disjecta membra

< Latin, alteration of disjectī membra poētae limbs of a dismembered poet, a phrase in Horace

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for disjecta membra

disjecta membra

/ Latin (dɪsˈdʒɛktə ˈmɛmbrə) /

pl n

scattered fragments, esp parts taken from a writing or writings

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disjecta membra

disjecta membra

"scattered remains" (especially literary), from Horace's Latin phrase disjecti membra poetae "limbs of a dismembered poet."