September 4, 2006 - Surcease

Surcease \SUR-sees; sur-SEES\, noun:
Cessation; stop; end.

One of his clearest remembrances from childhood was the feeling that swept over him when, on a Saturday morning, the sun had sequestered itself behind a cascade of clouds and rain, thick, relentless walls of rain, came pounding down with no promise of surcease, black greasy rain that eradicated all hopes of an outdoor day.
-- Stanley Bing, Lloyd: What Happened

When flights are delayed and the airport concourse looks like the subway at rush hour, children crawling among luggage and lines winding to pay phones, anxious travelers yearn for surcease.
-- Betsy Wade, "Airline Clubs: Worth the Cost?", New York Times, August 24, 1997

Listening to academics going on about desire is a profound anti-aphrodisiac treasure for those of us seeking surcease from worldly temptations.
-- Ron Rosenbaum, "Sex Week at Yale", The Atlantic, January/February 2003

Surcease comes from Old French sursis, past participle of surseoir, "to refrain," from Latin supersedere, "to sit above, to sit out," from super, "above" + sedere, "to sit."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for surcease

Only one hit on the word today and I think the filmmaker thought it was a verb. It's a trailer for a film that I can find no other reference to elsewhere on the net. It's an odd film too. Looks like some kind of morality play about bullying or something. Sort of homo-erotic too. Supposed to have come out last month. Enjoy



I always place the link at the surcease of the post.