The Esoteric Wordsmyth
Infra Dig
Infra dig pronounced\IN-fruh-DIG\ Derives from the Latin infra dignitatem, literally - 'beneath (one's) dignity'. It is first recorded by William Hazlitt in Table talk; or, original essays on men and manners, 1822:
‘Among other things, the learned languages are a ready passport to this sort of unmeaning, unanalyzed reputation. They presently lift a man up among the celestial constellations, the signs of the zodiac (as it were) and third heaven of inspiration, from whence he looks down on those who are toiling on in this lower sphere, and earning their bread by the sweat of their brain, at leisure and in scorn. If the graduates in this way condescend to express their thoughts in English, it is understood to be infra dignitatem...’
The first person to put th shortened infra dig. version into print was Sir Walter Scott. He uses it in his 1825 novel Redgauntlet:
‘It would be infra dig. in the Provost of this most flourishing and loyal town to associate with Redgauntlet.’
Being beneath one's dignity : undignified
‘Among artists lithography was infra dig by the 1870's -- because commercial illustrators had discovered it was a perfect printing medium for glaring posters.’
(D. J. R. Bruckner, The New York Times, December 20, 1998)
In her autobiography, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ In other (less eloquent) words, don't put up with any treatment or situation that is unendurably infra dig. The word ‘infra dig’ is used in relatively casual, sometimes sarcastic contexts (e.g., ‘Apparently, drugstore-purchased shampoo is too infra dig for my glamorous sister -- only the most expensive salon shampoos will do!’). ‘Infra dig’ is a shortened version of the Latin phrase ‘infra dignitatem,’ meaning ‘beneath dignity.’
NR
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