mortification
UK[ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn]US[ˌmɔːrtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn]
n
A feeling of shame, humiliation, or wounded pride.
n
The action of subduing one's bodily desires and passions, especially as a religious discipline.
Morpheme Breakdown
morti
fic
ation
morti
death
fic
making
ation
action or state
Etymology
The word 'mortification' originates from the Late Latin mortificatio, which itself derives from the verb mortificare, meaning "to put to death." This verb is a compound of mors (death) and facere (to make). In its original religious context, it described the spiritual discipline of "killing" or subduing sinful desires and the flesh. Over time, the sense evolved metaphorically; the profound humiliation or shame one feels was likened to a kind of emotional or social "death," leading to the dominant modern meaning of intense embarrassment.
Analysis
Structure: morti (death) + fic (making) + ation (action or state)
- morti: From Latin mors, mort- meaning "death."
- fic: From Latin -ficus, -ficare (from facere), meaning "making" or "causing."
- ation: A suffix forming nouns of action or state, from Latin -ationem.
Examples
He suffered deep mortification when his mistake was announced to the entire team.
In some monastic traditions, acts of physical mortification are practiced as penance.
To her mortification, she realized she had been talking loudly with spinach in her teeth.