Skip to content

The word for today is…

recuse (verb):

: to disqualify (oneself) as judge in a particular case , but broadly, to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : If you ever find yourself accused of refusing to recuse yourself, look on the bright side: you may be in a legal predicament, but you’ve also got a great occasion to learn some etymology. Accuse and recuse not only share space in the vocabulary of the courtroom, they both ultimately trace back to the Latin word causa, meaning “legal case,” “reason,” or “cause.” The current legal use of recuse to mean “to disqualify (oneself) as a judge” didn’t settle into frequent use until the 19th century. Broader application soon followed, and you can now recuse yourself from such things as debates and decisions as well as court cases.

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest