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Auto da Fe. [An act of faith.]

A day set apart by the Inquisition for the examination of “heretics.” Those not acquitted were burnt. The reason why inquisitors burnt their victims was, because they are forbidden to “shed blood”; an axiom of the Roman Catholic Church being, “Eccleʹsia non novit sanʹguinem” (the church is untainted with blood).

 

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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Aurora Borealis (Latin)
Aurora Raby
Aurora Septentrionalis
Ausonia
Auspices
Auster
Austin Friars
Austrian Lip
Aut Cæsar aut nullus [Latin, Either Cæsar or no one]
Authentic Doctor
Auto da Fe. [An act of faith.]
Autolycus
Automaton
Automedon
Autumn
Ava
Avalanche
Avalon
Avant Courier. (French, avant courrier.)
Avant Garde. (French.)
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Auto-da-fé