viatical, a. and n.
(vaɪˈætɪkəl)
[f. L. viātic-us or -um: see prec. and viaticum.]
a. adj. Of or pertaining to a way or road; relating to a journey. Chiefly Bot. b. n. pl. Articles for use on a journey.
| 1847 H. C. Watson Cybele Britannica I. 66 Viatical. Plants of road-sides, rubbish heaps, and frequented places. 1855 Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1876 II. 450 His back would have been bent..under the weight of armour and viaticals which Titus [Livius] carried with him easily and far. 1863 J. G. Baker N. Yorks. Stud. Bot., etc. 188 Such stations as are denominated by the terms paludal, viatical, agrestal, sylvestral, and septal exist no longer. 1932 G. C. Druce Comital Flora Brit. Isles 349 A[grostis] verticillata... Viatical. Germanic, Waysides, waste places. |
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▸ A. adj. Insurance. a. viatical settlement n. an arrangement whereby a person having a terminal illness (esp. AIDS) sells his or her life insurance policy to a third party for less than its mature value so that he or she can benefit from the proceeds while alive; cf. death futures n. at death n. Additions
Sources differ on the sense of viaticum n. which informs this use of viatical: see, for example, quots. 1993, 1995.
| 1991 Life & Health Insurance Sales Feb. 8/1 In 1989 a new industry, the ‘viatical settlements’, or ‘living benefits’, industry emerged. [1993 National Underwriter (Nexis) 26 Apr. 13 The word ‘viatical’ is from Viaticum, the Christian Eucharist given to someone close to death.] 1995 Money (Electronic ed.) Mar. These transactions, called viatical settlements (from the Latin word viaticum, meaning provision for a journey), do seem a bit ghoulish. 1998 G. G. Wolk (title) Viatical settlements: an investor's guide. |
b. Of, relating to, or concerned with viatical settlements.
| 1992 Orange County (Santa Ana, Calif.) Reg. 20 Aug. a26 Almost two dozen companies nationwide engage in legitimate viatical sales between AIDS patients and investors. 1997 Economist 10 May 112/2 Unlike ordinary life insurers, therefore, viatical insurers make higher profits if their customers die sooner. 2001 Newsweek (Electronic ed.) 14 May Breakthrough drugs upset the viatical apple cart. HIV-infected people no longer died ‘on time’. |
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▸ B. n. A viatical settlement. Usu. in pl.
| 1992 Atlanta Jrnl. 20 Aug. a16/1 ‘It's not a question of whether viaticals are good or bad,’ said Bill Freeman, executive director of the National Association of People With AIDS. 1998 New Republic 19 Oct. 6 Viaticals provide significant benefits for cash-strapped, terminally ill patients. 2001 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Electronic ed.) 16 June The scammers purported to buy life insurance policies from the terminally ill, a type of investment known as a viatical. Instead, the companies blew most of the money on mansions, helicopters and exotic cars. |