objurgation

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The Word of the Day for May 19 is:

objurgation   \ahb-jer-GAY-shun\   noun
     : a harsh rebuke

Example sentence:
     "The young man . . . began to fan himself vigorously with 
his hat, and broke out into a lively objurgation upon the hot 
weather." (Henry James, _Roderick Hudson_)

Did you know?
     "Objurgation" traces to the Latin "objurgare" ("to scold or 
blame"), which was formed from "ob-" ("against") and "jurgare" 
("to quarrel" or, literally, "to take to law" -- in other 
words, "to bring a lawsuit"). "Jur-" in Latin means "law," and 
there are several English words related to "objurgation" that 
have legal implications, 
including "perjury," "abjure," "jurisprudence," and 
even "injury." But despite its etymological connection to the 
law, the word "objurgation" carries no legal weight. It refers 
to nothing more than an unusually harsh or severe scolding.