261011 A Ruminal Fig

By October 26, 2014 zBlog Archives

Sometimes I just have to be slightly imaginative when it comes to the word of the day, as I can’t just get to ancient Rome at the drop of a hat. Today’s word – “ruminal” (‘In Roman mythology: designating a wild fig-tree at the foot of the Palatine Hill under which Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf. Chiefly in Ruminal fig-tree.’, OED) didn’t require much imagination in terms of finding a fig-tree (as evidenced by that rather tiny shrivelled fruit clinging to the branches) but for the Palatine Hill, I’m afraid you need to close your eyes and conjure up the sort of picture we used to see in our Latin text books!

Day #295 of a 365 project, where the daily pic is informed by the OED word of the day.