sed-, sedat-, -sid, -sess

1. The expulsion of someone; such as, a tenant from the ownership of land or other property by the process of law: There was a dispossession of Jason's next door neighbors because the couple failed to pay their taxes over a period of five years.
2. Etymology: from Old French despossesser, "to dispossess", from des-, "dis-, lack of, not" + possesser, "possess" which stands forpots-sidere, literally "to sit as a master".

The first element is a contraction of potis, "able, mighty, powerful"; while the second element is related to sedere, "to sit" and "to sit down".

An opposition to an authority or a disagreement with a prevailing opinion or belief; whether in a group, a family, a larger public or government organization, etc.: Broadly defined, dissidence is the belief of people who actively oppose an established political policy, organization, or structure. © ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. Someone who does not agree with some established policy: A dissident is often against authoritarian regimes or some established constitutional order which he or she does not agree with.

In totalitarian regimes, dissidents are often punished with lengthy prison terms, execution, economic deprivation, or confiscation of their property.

2. A person who is characterized by departing from accepted beliefs or standards: Political dissidents primarily use non-violent means of political disagreement, including voicing criticism of the government or a dominating ideology; but dissidents can also attempt to displace or overthrow the established government by achieving popular support and inciting a revolution or a rebellion.
3. Etymology: From Latin dissidentem and dissidere, "to be remote, to disagree, to be removed from"; "to sit apart"; derived from dis-, "apart" + sedere, "to sit".

1. A reference to or characterized by someone who departs from accepted beliefs or standards.
3. Relating to anyone who disagrees; especially, with a majority.

1. Relating to an intension to entrap, to beguile, or to allure someone into a treacherous situation: Henry's cousin has an insidious plan to steal a woman's purse after she leaves the bank.
2. Stealthily treacherous or deceitful: The military commander told his staff that they were fighting an insidious enemy.
3. A reference to something that proceeds in an inconspicuous, subtle, stealthy, or seemingly harmless way, but which actually has a serious negative effect: Jim had an insidious disease which existed for some time, but even his physician was not aware of what was causing it.

Sometimes people have an insidious ailment, but they have no idea that they are infected.

4. Etymology: From Latin insidiosus, "deceitful", from insidae (plural) "plot, snare, ambush", from insidere, "to sit on, to occupy" from in-, "in" + sedere "to sit". © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. In a harmfully deceitful manner.
2. Having an imperceptible beginning, as of a disease with a late manifestation of definite symptoms.

1. A development that is gradual, subtle, or imperceptible in order to entrap.
2. Being a disease that progresses and is cumulative with few or no symptoms to indicate its seriousness.

A drug or therapeutic agent that produces a soothing effect on mucus-bearing surfaces: Mucus is the thick, slimy fluid that is secreted by mucous membranes (the soft, pink, skin-like layers that line many of the cavities and tubes in the body) and so a mucosedative relieves or eases any pain that may have developed in certain areas where mucous is produced.

1. To dominate or to occupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of someone; to beset, to trouble, or to haunt persistently or abnormally: Suspicions about his neighbor's honesty obsessed Matthew.
2. To occupy someone's thoughts constantly, compulsively, and exclusively: The desire for revenge about the way she was treated so badly by her fellow workers obsessed Marge's sister for a long time.
3. Etymology: from Latin obsessus, past participle of obsidere, "to besiege, to occupy". Literally, "to sit opposite to", from ob, "against" + sedere "to sit".

Of evil spirits, "to haunt", is from 1540. Obsession was originally (1513), "the act of besieging", then "hostile action of the devil or an evil spirit" (1605). The meaning "persistent influence or idea" is first recorded in 1680.

© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. A reference to being influenced or controlled by a powerful force; such as, a strong emotion.
2. Conveying or showing an excessive or compulsive concern with something or someone.

1. An unhealthy and compulsive thinking about something or someone: Her obsession about being fat often motivates Lucy to try many diet plans which promise quick results; but, don't necessarily lead to success.
2. An irrational drive for performing trivial or repetitive actions even when the person doesn't want to: Harriet observed the woman in the public washroom who appeared to have an obsession about washing her hands because she was scrubbing her hands with soap and water and then doing it again and again.
3. The uncontrollable persistence of an idea or emotion in the mind, sometimes associated with a psychiatric disorder: The worrisome obsession which the military officer had that his telephone was being tapped by the government turned out to be true and so it was not just a mental health disorder. © ALL rights are reserved.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

1. A reference to or characterized by an uncontrollable feeling or passion about something or someone: An obsessive concern may cause some people to do things against their wills because they have no ability to stop themselves.
2. Relating to, characteristic of, or causing a desire to do something: Shirley had an obsessive-gambling habit, on and off the internet.
3. An extreme degree or nature: The coach had an obsessive need and desire for his team to win every game they played.

In medicine, a neurosis in which people are continuously bothered by persistent ideas that make them do repetitive, ritualized actions which they have no control over: An obsessive-compulsive disorder often begins in adolescence and continues to fluctuate or come and go over time.

People with obsessive-compulsive disorders often suffer from very strong feelings of having to do something that can't be controlled by themselves and so they also may have depressions and anxieties.

For a long time, obsessive-compulsive disorders have been treated with psychoanalysis or behavior therapy.

A reference to substances that have been left by water and built up by the interaction of living organisms.

To determine property values at being worth too high a tax figure; to overtax.