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venalmore about venal

venal


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Venal  \Ve"nal\,  a.  [L.  vena  a  vein.] 
  Of  or  pertaining  to  veins;  venous;  as  venal  blood.  [R.] 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Venal  \Ve"nal\,  a.  [L.  venalis  from  venus  sale;  akin  to  Gr  ? 
  price,  Skr.  vasna:  cf  F.  v['e]nal.] 
  Capable  of  being  bought  or  obtained  for  money  or  other 
  valuable  consideration;  made  matter  of  trade  or  barter;  held 
  for  sale;  salable;  mercenary;  purchasable;  hireling;  as 
  venal  services.  ``  Paid  court  to  venal  beauties.'' 
  --Macaulay. 
 
  The  venal  cry  and  prepared  vote  of  a  passive  senate. 
  --Burke. 
 
  Syn:  Mercenary;  hireling;  vendible. 
 
  Usage:  {Venal},  {Mercenary}.  One  is  mercenary  who  is  either 
  actually  a  hireling  (as,  mercenary  soldiers,  a 
  mercenary  judge,  etc.),  or  is  governed  by  a  sordid 
  love  of  gain;  hence  we  speak  of  mercenary  motives,  a 
  mercenary  marriage,  etc  Venal  goes  further,  and 
  supposes  either  an  actual  purchase,  or  a  readiness  to 
  be  purchased,  which  places  a  person  or  thing  wholly  in 
  the  power  of  the  purchaser;  as  a  venal  press.  Brissot 
  played  ingeniously  on  the  latter  word  in  his 
  celebrated  saying,  ``  My  pen  is  venal  that  it  may  not 
  be  mercenary,''  meaning  that  he  wrote  books,  and  sold 
  them  to  the  publishers,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
  necessity  of  being  the  hireling  of  any  political 
  party. 
 
  Thus  needy  wits  a  vile  revenue  made  And  verse 
  became  a  mercenary  trade  --Dryden. 
 
  This  verse  be  thine,  my  friend,  nor  thou  refuse 
  This  from  no  venal  or  ungrateful  muse.  --Pope. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  venal 
  adj  :  capable  of  being  corrupted;  "corruptible  judges";  "dishonest 
  politicians";  "a  purchasable  senator";  "a  venal  police 
  officer"  [syn:  {corruptible},  {bribable},  {dishonest}, 
  {purchasable}] 




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