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A Word to the Wise

Piaculative

By Mark Morgan Ford · · 1 min read
(pie-AK-yuh-luh-tiv) was coined by T.S. Eliot for his poem “Mr. Eliot’s Sunday Morning Service.” Derived from the Latin for “appease, purify, expiate,” it refers to atonement or reparation – e.g., for a sin or crime. From the poem:

The sable presbyters approach

The avenue of penitence;

The young are red and pustular

Clutching piaculative pence.

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