Agenbite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈɡɛnbʌɪt/

Alternative forms

• againbite, gainbite

Origin

Modern spelling of ayenbite reflecting Old English agēn ("again, eft, back").

Full definition of agenbite

Noun

1. remorse, ayenbite, often used as a conscious archaismSpeaking to me. They wash and tub and scrub. Agenbite of inwit. Conscience. — James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922A special property of all social extensions of the body is that they return to plague the inventors in a kind of agenbite of outwit. — Marshall McLuhan, The Agenbite of Outwit, 1998But more to the point here, the agenbite is, if not a Jewish condition, then more pervasive among Jews than any other group, by a wide margin. — David Koffler, How Jewy Should We Want Our Presidents To Be?, 2008... a habitude of writers challenged by the affliction of an over-agenbite and inwit to match. — James Rother, A Review of An Lauterbach, 2005

Anagrams

• binge eat