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sin·a·pism

(sĭnə-pĭz′əm)

See mustard plaster.

[French sinapisme, from Late Latin sināpismus, from Greek sināpismos, use of a mustard plaster, from sināpizein, to apply a mustard plaster, from sināpi, mustard, variant of earlier nāpu; probably akin to Middle Persian span- in spandān, mustard (Middle Persian dān, seed) and Sanskrit sarṣapaḥ, mustard, and ultimately of non-Indo-European origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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