Deodand

Deodand is a term used to describe an object or instrument that had caused a person's death. In medieval Europe it became forfeit to the crown or the church. The word comes from the Latin Deo dandum which means to be given to God.

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The practice of deodand was abolished in 1846 in England.

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There is also a creature called the Deodand which appears repeatedly in Jack Vance's popular Dying Earth series. It is carnivorous, malicious, and sentient, and is described by Vance as "formed and featured like a handsome man, finely muscled, but with a dead black lusterless skin and long slit eyes."

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Death: Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism or the state of the organism after that event. In almost all societies, death has one or several symbols associated with it. Common symbols of death in Western cultures include the grim reaper and the color black; conversely, in certain Ea...

Medieval Europe: REDIRECT Middle Ages...

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...