Historically, the word defenestration referred to an act of political dissent. In particular, the defenestrations of Prague in 1419 and 1618 helped trigger a protracted conflict in Bohemia and beyond. Some Catholics attribute the survival of those defended at Prague Castle in 1618 to divine intervention. Subscribe to America`s largest dictionary and get thousands of other definitions and an advanced search – ad-free! The word itself derives from the neo-Latin defenestratio; where dē means “out” and fenestra means “window” + -atio as a suffix indicating an action or process. The internet loves these words – whether they are in the dictionary or not. Joshua Stamper`s 2006©theme music New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP Today, defenestration – from the Latin fenestra, meaning “window” – is often used to describe the forced removal of a person from a public office or other advantageous position. However, the most famous defenestration in history was the one where throwing out the window was literal. On May 23, 1618, two imperial regents were found guilty of violating certain guarantees of religious freedom and thrown out the window of Prague Castle. The men survived the fall 50 feet into the trench, but the incident marked the beginning of Bohemia`s resistance to Habsburg rule, which eventually led to the Thirty Years` War and became known as the Prague Defenestration (this was the third historical defenestration in Prague, but the first known to be so called by English speakers). “Defenestration”.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defenestration. Retrieved 11 October 2022. Reference works from the Dictionary of Tennis, International Politics and Law Can you the former winners of the National Spelli. Defenestration (from the neo-Latin fenestra[1]) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window. [2] The term was coined at the time of an incident at Prague Castle in 1618, which became the spark that ignited the Thirty Years` War. This was done in the “good bohemian style” and referred to the defenestration that had taken place almost 200 years earlier (July 1419) at the Prague City Hall and which also led to the Hussite War on this occasion. [3] The word comes from the new Latin[4] de- (bottom of) and fenestra (window or opening). [5] These sample sentences are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “defenestration”. The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

Send us your feedback. In a broader sense, the term is also used to describe the forced or forced expulsion of an adversary. [6] The term comes from two events in history, both of which occurred in Prague. In 1419, seven city officials were expelled from City Hall, triggering the Hussite War. In 1618, two imperial governors and their secretary were expelled from Prague Castle, triggering the Thirty Years` War. [7] These events, especially that of 1618, were called the Prague Defenestration and led to the term and concept. Self-defenestration (or self-defense) is the term used for the act of jumping, drifting or falling from a window.