July 07, 2010

Word of the Day

adjective

: being beneath one's dignity : undignified

"Among artists lithography was infra dig by the 1870's -- because commercial illustrators had discovered it was a perfect printing medium for glaring posters." (D. J. R. Bruckner,  The New York Times, December 20, 1998)

In her autobiography, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." In other (less eloquent) words, don't put up with any treatment or situation that is unendurably infra dig. The word "infra dig" is used in relatively casual, sometimes sarcastic contexts (e.g., "Apparently, drugstore-purchased shampoo is too infra dig for my glamorous sister -- only the most expensive salon shampoos will do!"). "Infra dig" is a shortened version of the Latin phrase "infra dignitatem," meaning "beneath dignity."

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