peculiar institution

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

the peculiar institution

  1. (euphemistic or derogatory) slavery
    • 1855, Peter Randolph, Illustrations of the 'Peculiar Institution':
      He became a great drunkard and a great gambler (vices intimately connected with the "peculiar institution,") and was obliged to give up his business.
    • 2001, John C. Inscoe, Appalachians and Race, Introduction, page 3:
      He documents the extensiveness of the peculiar institution's presence throughout the region and establishes a much more realistic context for the emergences of abolitionist sentiments and the various forms it took.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.