Exorcisement

/ˈɛksɔrsaɪzmənt/ noun

Definition

The act or process of exorcising; the removal or driving out of evil spirits or negative influences.

Etymology

Formed from exorcise plus the suffix -ment, which creates nouns from verbs and often emphasizes the result or product of an action. The suffix -ment comes from Latin -mentum and is extremely productive in English.

Kelly Says

The suffix -ment is so powerful in English that we can add it to almost any verb—'amazement,' 'resentment,' 'placement'—and while 'exorcisement' is rare today, it was a perfectly normal way to nominalize verbs in earlier centuries before 'exorcism' became standardized!

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