Zabernism

May 25, 2004

The Oxford Dictionary website has a 'Word of the Day' email service, which sends you an unusual word every morning. In my nerdy moments (there are quite a few of them), I amuse myself by using the Word of the Day in the next email I send out. Today's word is 'zabernism':

zabernism
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[ZAB-er-niz-um] an obsolete word meaning 'the abuse of military power or authority; unjustified aggression'. From the name Zabern, the German name for Saverne in Alsace, where in 1912 an overeager German subaltern killed a cobbler who smiled at him.

I am surprised not to have come across it in recent media. See how many times you can squeeze it into discussion today, then read some of CASE's material on Just War in the Topics:ethics section and elsewhere on the website.

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