disjecta membra

[dis-jek-tuh mem-bruh]

plural noun

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

Origin of disjecta membra

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

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British Dictionary definitions for disjecta membra

disjecta membra

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

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