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Monday, June 14, 2010

Today's Word: agrarian

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(adjective, noun)
[ah-GRARE-ee-ahn] Play Word

adjective

1. pertaining to land, especially its ownership and cultivation: "Dylan was a lifelong city resident, and it shocked him to think that his family had lived entirely agrarian lives until only a generation ago."

2. relating to farming or other rural matters

3. promoting agricultural interests, as 'agrarian lobbyists'

noun

4. one in favor of an equitable division of land

adverb form: agrarianly


Origin:
Approximately 1618; borrowed from Middle French, 'loy agrarienne': agrarian law; from Latin, 'agrarius': of the land, from 'ager': field (genitive 'agri'), which is related to the root 'agro-': field.

In action:
"Relief agencies have blamed acute food shortages on political violence and the often violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms in the agriculture-based economy in the past two years, along with drought. Nearly 200 people, mostly opposition supporters, have died in political violence.

Mugabe blamed the current 'humanitarian crisis' on the drought. He thanked U.N. agencies and international organizations for providing food and other assistance and said Zimbabwe would welcome additional assistance to 'mitigate the effects of future droughts.'

Defending the land seizures, Mugabe said: 'The primary objective of our agrarian reforms is to redress the colonial injustice perpetrated by Britain whereby a minority of British settlers in 1890 seized our land and acquired our natural resources but never paid any compensation to our ancestors.'

...

But while his government has given thousands of poor Zimbabweans access, though not title, to small plots of land, many of the biggest and best farms have gone to Mugabe's relatives, government ministers and ruling party officials. One large farm went to Mugabe's wife, Grace, another to his sister, Sabrina."

"Mugabe says 'fast track' land reform complete," CNN.com (September 12, 2002).

"So how am I supposed to get a fair trial now? A person hears a phrase like 'genocide,' and they close their minds to everything else. They completely ignore the fact that, even to this day, these agrarian curs are marrying non-Shan. But all it takes is just one U.N. tribunal to scream 'genocide,' and you're forever labeled a bloodthirsty mass-murderer. 'Bloodthirsty'? Who does this sort of name-calling benefit?

Let's take one more look at this nebulous word 'genocide,' which is defined as 'the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national or racial group.' Last time I checked, there were still 2,623,947 Shan left in Myanmar. That doesn't sound like much of a genocide to me.

Now, if you'd be so kind as to leave me be--perhaps until about, oh, September 2001--I have some important business to attend to."

Gen. Myanaung Phauk. "Genocide is Such A Harsh Word," The Onion.com (June 1, 2000).

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Learnt a lot from vicissitudes of life, I am a student of life, A work in progress, currently(sic) an overweight body but a beautiful mind, Another human seeking happiness. I believe in sharing and absorbing wisdom irrespective of the source. (aa no bhadraa kratavo...)