ad hominem

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 23, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>ad hominem</strong> &#149; \ad-HAH-muh-nem\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> appealing to feelings or prejudices rather than intellect</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"One common gripe is that companies engaged in socially beneficial initiatives are simply doing so in order to enhance or protect their reputations, that the do-gooder impulse wells up from self-interest, not public beneficence. While that essentially constitutes an <em>ad hominem</em> argument, let's take it straight up and suggest a simple answer: 'So what?'" — <em>The Daily Press</em> (Newport News, Virginia), 27 Jan. 2020</p> <p>"Sweeping conclusions, <em>ad hominem</em> attacks, and guilt by association animate red-blue battles, particularly on social media, but lawyers are taught to use careful and focused arguments to make their points." — <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2020/12/13/robert-k-vischer-when-lawyers-fuel-the-fire/">Robert K. Vischer, <em>The Twin Cities Pioneer Press</em> (St. Paul, Minnesota), 13 Dec. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Ad hominem</em> literally means "to the person" in <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/New%20Latin">New Latin</a> (Latin as first used in post-medieval texts). In centuries past, this adjective typically modified <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/argument">argument</a></em>. An "argument ad hominem" (or <em>argumentum ad hominem</em>, to use the full New Latin phrase) was a valid method of persuasion by which one took advantage of an opponent's interests or feelings in a debate, instead of just sticking to general principle