Defenestration means “the action of throwing someone out of a window”. Why do we need a word that means throwing someone out of a window? It seems weird to me.
As someone who took Latin, the derivation is easy. It is “de” which means “out” and “fenestra” which means window. So, it’s a word meaning out of the window. But how many people are thrown out of windows that we need a specific word for the action?
Well, Wikipedia says it was coined in 1618 in Prague. Two imperial governors were thrown out of Prague Castle which started the Thirty Years War. It then goes on to list about 30 famous defenestrations. It doesn’t seem like 30ish instances are enough to make the word worthwhile.
I mean it’s not that hard to say, “John was thrown out a window.” It’s easier to understand than saying, “John was defenestrated.”
Language is so weird.
