tabula rasa

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The Word of the Day for October 2 is:

tabula rasa   \tab-yuh-luh-RAH-zuh\   noun
      1 : the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before 
receiving outside impressions
    *2 : something existing in its original pristine state

Example sentence:
      Our newly built house, with its unpainted walls, is a tabula rasa 
awaiting our decorative touches.

Did you know?
      Philosophers have been arguing that babies are born with minds that are 
essentially blank slates since the days of Aristotle. (Later, some 
psychologists took up the case as well.) English speakers have called that 
initial state of mental blankness "tabula rasa" (a term taken from a Latin 
phrase that translates as "smooth or erased tablet") since the 16th century, 
but it wasn't until British philosopher John Locke championed the concept in 
his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" in 1690 that the term gained 
widespread popularity in our language. In later years, a figurative sense of 
the term emerged, referring to something that exists in its original state and 
that has yet to be altered by outside forces. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.