Defenestration (from Neo-Latin de fenestrā[1]) is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.[2] The term was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618 which became the spark that started the Thirty Years' War. This was done in "good Bohemian style", referring to the defenestration which had occurred in Prague's New Town Hall almost 200 years earlier (July 1419), and on that occasion led to the Hussite war.[3] The word comes from the Neo-Latin[4] de- (down from) and fenestra (window or opening).[5]
By extension, the term is also used to describe the forcible or peremptory removal of an adversary.[6]
- ^ "Meaning of defenestration in English". Oxford English Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary
- ^ Swedish encyclopedia NE2000, digital version, article "defenestrestrationerna i Prag"
- ^ same ref.; "New Latin" could be said to be the collection of "Latin" words which wasn't in use by the Romans
- ^ Harper, Douglas (2001). "defenestration". Online Etymological Dictionary. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016.
- ^ "Latin American Herald Tribune - Caracas Metromayor's 'Political Defenestration' All But Complete in Venezuela". www.laht.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.