pecu-, pecun-

Translation: "He that loveth silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase."

From the Old Testament: Ecclesiastes, V, 10 (c. 250 B.C.). It is probably the origin of "The More he has, the more he wants."

It is said that the multimillionaire, John D. Rockefeller, was once asked, "How much money does it take to make a man happy?" His response: "Just a little more!"

The state of having hardly any money or none at all: John and Sarah’s impecuniosity, or the state of being so poverty-stricken, did not allow them to buy each other any Christmas presents.

1. A reference to having little or no legal tender, and so unable to lead a comfortable life: Isaac and his family were existing in such impecunious conditions that they had to live in a tent near the forest because he could not afford to rent a house.
2. Describing a condition in which there is not enough money to pay for necessities: Jacob was an impecunious student who was attending a college and so he had to work part time in order to pay for his expenses. © ALL rights are reserved.
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A reference to those who are penniless and poor: Tom was living most impecuniously having chosen to be a painter, but no one was buying his pictures and therefore he hardly had any funds to pay for his living expenses!

Jacob was so poverty-stricken after losing his job that he had to live quite impecuniously in his car instead of in an apartment.

A condition of having very little financial resources or being financially broke: The impecuniousness of their situation hardly allowed Susan and Tim to buy enough to eat each month or to pay for the rent of their one-room apartment; so, they were trying to make arrangements to live with their parents.

Translation: "No place is so strongly fortified that money could not capture it."

Another way of saying, "Money can buy anything or anyone." In addition, it could mean, "With enough money, one can have everything he/she wants; except good health and eternal life."

From Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 - 43 B.C.). Cicero's voluminous writings include poetry (both his own and translations from the Greek); orations (fifty-eight have survived, forty-eight are lost); compositions about rhetoric, philosophy, morals, and politics; as well as letters. His formal discourses are important historically because they contain much information on ancient thoughts. His letters are the primary source for our knowledge of the period.

After Caesar's murder, Cicero violently attacked Mark Antony in his celebrated Philippics. When the second triumvirate was formed, he was put on the list of those who were to be killed and was murdered by Antony's agents.

1. The raising, or rearing, of cattle: Growing up on a farm, Glen loved cows so much that he decided to study pecudiculture in order to know more about his favorite animals.
2. The genetics, breeding, nutrition and housing of domesticated animals; animal husbandry: Floyd needed to take courses in pecudiculture, as well as those for zoology, which he needed in order to become a veterinarian.
3. Etymology, from Latin pecud-em, "a beast"; in plural, "cattle" + "culture".

The word format is based on agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, etc.

To steal or to take assets dishonestly; especially, to embezzle public funds, or property entrusted to one's care: The president of the country was peculating several million dollars from the country's treasury so he could have a very fancy house to live in and even to have his own private zoo. © ALL rights are reserved.

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The deliberate act of acquiring public capital or property by someone in an official position or the embezzlement or stealing of the monetary corpus or goods entrusted to a person: The accountant of the company was discovered to be practicing peculation which almost caused the firm to go bankrupt. © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. Someone who misappropriates public funds or public property: The peculator, who was the city’s treasurer, was finally exposed to the public after having been proven to have stolen a hundred thousand dollars from the city’s savings.
2. Etymology: from Latin peculatus, past participle of peculari, "to embezzle public money", from peculium, "private property"; literally, "property in cattle" which in the past has represented "wealth".

1. Strange, odd, or unusual: Hank had a peculiar accident when he stumbled while going down the steps in the hallway.
2. Uncommon; out of the ordinary: Clara had a peculiar hobby of collecting words none of which her friends ever heard of.
3. Distinctive in nature or character from others: Mabel had a peculiar habit of eating ice cream for breakfast!

Lionel, who was from Texas, used an expression quite peculiar to Canadians and so they had a hard time understanding what he was saying!

4. Belonging exclusively to a person, group, or something: Too many dictionaries have a peculiar procedure of using another form of the word entry that is being defined; for example, "An anthropologist is someone who studies anthropology."
5. Common or normal for a certain place or circumstance: A peculiar habit of the rich ladies at the famous races in Ascot, England, is to show off their fancy hats and clothes.
6. Etymology: from Latin peculiaris as "one's own", equivalent to peculi(um), "private property" (derivative of pecu, "flock, farm animals"; literally, "property in cattle"; akin to pecus, "cattle" from which came pecunia, "money" because cattle represented wealth before money became the main element of such a status).

Black slavery in the southern U.S. before the Civil War: The peculiar institution is one main aspect in the book Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. She describes the situation of the black people being owned by white plantation masters at Tara, the O’Hara plantation in Georgia, before the war broke out between the northern and southern states in 1861.

A quality, a characteristic, or an unusual feature or habit: Sam had facial features and dress that showed a peculiarity of a woman with a beard and long hair. © ALL rights are reserved.

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To be identified as a special or unique possession: The very old diary of Susan’s grandfather, dating back to the late 1800s, was peculiarized by the experts as being one of a kind.

1. In Roman law: The property which a father allowed his child, or a master allowed his slave, to hold as his own: In modern times, John Johnson was only ten when his father gave him his own peculium, a savings book with a hundred dollars.
2. A private or exclusive possession, property, or appurtenance: The peculium Mildred inherited from her mother was a cameo, one which her great great grandmother had worn on many special occasions.