Todays Word

 

collier’s faith

PRONUNCIATION:

(KAHL-yuhrz fayth) 

MEANING:

noun: Unreasonable faith; blind faith.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin fides carbonarii (collier’s faith), from German köhlerglaube (collier’s faith). The term may have arisen from the dangerous and uncertain nature of coal mining. Earliest documented use: 1680.

USAGE:

“Our love for art might inspire in us a collier’s faith to say what others have said before and will say again after us. Namely that even if the situation is ominous, and even if we’re very poor &c. &c., yet we firmly concentrate on one single thing, on painting, naturally.” [Van Gogh writing to his brother Theo, circa Nov 8, 1883]
Patrick Grant; Reading Vincent van Gogh: A Thematic Guide to the Letters; 2016.