The grass in our backyard was getting quite long due to the hot sun the other week and residual moisture under the topsoil. I have not been diligent in cutting the lawn but there are extenuating circumstances. I seem to be more tired after golf than I was a few years ago so cutting grass in the afternoon heat is not advisable. Whenever I make a plan for mowing, something more important always seems to come up.
Extenuate when used in the phrase ‘extenuating circumstances’ refers to situations or facts that provide justification for something. Extenuating circumstances is a principal concept used by defense lawyers in law courts. The extenuating circumstances of stealing to feed your children makes one less guilty than those who steal to get rich or vandalize. If you kill someone in self-defense it’s an extenuating circumstance that differentiates it from murder.
Extenuate means to lessen the real or apparent seriousness of something. Claiming extenuating circumstances gives an excuse for actions. If you miss your son’s soccer game, you can extenuate your absence by explaining how you had to take the family pet to the veterinarian’s office due to sudden symptoms of sickness. You may be forgiven because of the extenuating circumstances.
In the early 16th century the English language derived the word extenuate from the Latin extenuare, meaning to reduce. Extenuare was formed by adding ex (out or thoroughly) to the verb tenuare (to make thin). To extenuate was to make something thin, lean, or sparse. The famine extenuated everyone in the community near to the point of death.
In the mid-1500s the meaning of extenuate moved to imply thinning out or reducing the magnitude of guilt or blame. In the 1600s people started using the phrase ‘extenuating circumstances’ to lessen the magnitude of guilt in legal contexts. Extenuating circumstances suggested one was less blamable or the incident was smaller in degree than situations would appear to suggest.
On the other hand, aggravating circumstances imply an increase in severity or culpability. Canadian Criminal Code 718.2 states, “a sentence should be increased or reduced to account for any relevant aggravating or mitigating circumstances relating to the offence or the offender.” Mitigating circumstances is legal language for extenuating circumstances. The lawyer presented evidence of the client’s difficult childhood which demonstrated to the jury the extenuating circumstances that lead to the crime.
Another legal term related to extenuate is palliate. Palliate implies causing an offence to seem less serious by concealing evidence. His attorney tried to excuse his client’s charges by palliating his anger management issues and blaming the victim’s rage.
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) wrote in Les Miserables (Chapter 10), “In 1649 the holy sacrament was profaned on two occasions a few days apart, in two churches in Paris. . . . But the expiation (a solemn procession of all the clergy) did not satisfy two sainted women, Madame Courtin, Marquise de Boucs, and the Comtesse de Chateauvieux. This outrage committed on "the most holy sacrament of the altar," though but temporary, would not depart from these holy souls, and it seemed to them that it could only be extenuated by a "Perpetual Adoration" in some female monastery.” “This,” Hugo wrote, “explains the origin of the legal consecration of the establishment of the Benedictines of the Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Sacrament at Paris.” The women’s spiritual angst would only be lessened or extenuated by the perpetual pious acts of a monastery.
I also find that a rainy day extenuates the procrastination of the grass cutting.
Columnist John Kreutzwieser loves to research words and has an interest in the usage, origin, and relevance of words for society today. Greek and Latin form the basis of many words, with ancient Hebrew shedding light on word usage.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
