January 24, 2008, 09:36
shufitzMuniment
I've absolutely never heard of the word
muniment, before finding it in a novel I just finished. It's seen in the passage below, part of a letter from a British lady. Is this word at all familar to Brits?
A few days ago we were clearing out Brompton Hall in preparation for its transfer to new owners. In one of the storage closet in the muniment room -- a sort of family archive room -- was a parcel wrapped in oilcloth ...
January 24, 2008, 10:56
dalehilemanI suppose you've already been here, but
http://onelook.com/?w=muniment+&ls=aJanuary 24, 2008, 11:13
BobHaleIt sounds vaguely familiar but I wouldn't say it's a word I know.
January 24, 2008, 11:46
tsuwmit's not so much British as archaic, I think.
muniment roomsJanuary 24, 2008, 19:16
KallehHere's what OED says about
muniment roomquote:
1661 A. WOOD Life (1891) 18 Mar. I. 384 Dr. Wallis sent for A. W. to com to him, then in the *muniment-room in the School Tower. 1826 B. DISRAELI Vivian Grey I. II. iv. 111 A turreted tower, the small square window of which..illumined the muniment room of the House of Carabas. 1921 A. HUXLEY Crome Yellow xiii. 120 Our muniment room is particularly rich in ancient records. 1981 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases 596 A place may be used as a repository for archives without being used as a place of business, e.g. a muniment room.
According to OED, it is chiefly a
law word. You're sure you haven't heard of it, Shu?