disjecta membra

[ dis-jek-tuh-mem-bruh ]

/ dɪsˈdʒɛk tə ˈmɛm brə /

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plural noun

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of disjecta membra

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

Words nearby disjecta membra

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

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How to use disjecta membra in a sentence

One might almost get together all the disjecta membra and reconstruct the original Polynesian tongue.
Life of John Coleridge Patteson|Charlotte M. Yonge
The lumber-room contained among other things the disjecta membra of his old mining life and experience.
Gabriel Conroy|Bert Harte
His works are after all only the disjecta membra poetæ; full of hints of a great might-have-been.
Literary and General Lectures and Essays|Charles Kingsley
Plainly there was need of effort to rescue the disjecta membra of the antique and Christian heritages.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor

They are probably the 'disjecta membra'—a pest on the pedantry of Latin!
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 22, No. 2, August 1843|Various

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