disjecta membra

American  

[dis-jek-tuh mem-bruh] / dɪsˈdʒɛk tə ˈmɛm brə /

plural noun

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

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disjecta membra British  

/ dɪsˈdʒɛktə ˈmɛmbrə /

plural noun

1. scattered fragments, esp parts taken from a writing or writings

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Etymology

Origin of disjecta membra

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

Example Sentences

"Professor Winterthorn's Journey" is full of the disjecta membra of idle small talk, and in the following sequence, "The Suit of Mistress Quickly", Reid has written what is almost a piece of sound poetry.

From The Guardian • Sep. 28, 2012

It is high time this pseudo poetry of disjecta membra was put in its place, as you have done in the fine peroration of the article's last two paragraphs.

From Time Magazine Archive

In our folly and blindness, we fancy ourselves secure, while the ground is mined under our guilty feet, and the explosion is even now preparing, from which only our disjecta membra will emerge.

From Sword and Gown A Novel by Lawrence, George A. (George Alfred)

Our poets are not merely vague and confused, they are altogether fragmentary— disjecta membra poetarum; they need some uniting idea.

From Famous Reviews by Johnson, R. Brimley

There lay all that remained of Mrs. Sykes—the disjecta membra, the fragmenta—the casket!

From The Portland Sketch Book by Various