The Write Way

28 November 2003

My! You've Changed!

Greetings,

This week, I thought it would be interesting to have a little look at how some of our words have changed over the years ... lots of years. 

If you were to lob on my front doorstep tomorrow and tell me you're starving, my first impulse would be to dash to the kitchen and whip up something to help you see out another day, but had you arrived a few hundred years ago, my response would have been very different. I'd have headed to the blanket box in search of a woolly vest and some mittens. Starve comes from the Old English steofarn (to die) and it used to mean suffering or dying from the cold (as in low temperatures, not a runny nose and a cough).

I don't know what's happening in your part of the world, but more and more out here, we're seeing shops that once housed nice respectable haberdashers and dress shops being taken over by establishments that have discreetly painted out the front display windows (and then added less than discreet signs promising 'adult entertainment'). These have names like "The Honey Pot," "Be Daring" and "Naughty but Nice."  Naughty today means something mischievous ... but socially acceptable in an odd way. I wonder if these shop owners would be as happy to proclaim their naughtiness if they realised that naughty comes from a Middle English word meaning 'evil and wicked.'

Speaking as we were of things that are naughty, leads me to ponder the hussy. Today, your gran might refer to the neighbour's teenage daughter going out in her boob tube and mini-skirt, as a brazen hussy. But had she been around during the days when Middle English was spoken (now don't be cheeky ... your gran may be old, but she's not as old as that), she would have been referring to any of the respectable married women in her field of vision. Hussy, you see, is an alteration of houswif.

One man's fish is another man's poisson, we say... or is that poison? Today, we use poison to refer to "a substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means; something destructive or fatal" but it wasn't always so. If I tell you that the word comes originally from the Latin potio (I drink) that might help you follow its journey from beverage to blight ...

"The phrase poison potion, besides being alliterative, also consists of doublets, that is, two words that go back ultimately to the same source in another language. The source for both words is Latin pti (stem form ptin-), which meant “the act of drinking, a drink, or a draft, as of a medicine or poison.” Our word potion, which retains the sense “dose,” passed through Old French (pocion) on its way to Middle English (pocion), first recorded in a work composed around 1300. In Old French pocion is a learned borrowing, one that was deliberately taken from Latin in a form corresponding to the Latin form. Our spelling potion is the result of a similar impulse toward Latinization; in the late Renaissance and Enlightenment, numerous English words that had been borrowed from Old French were respelled according to the shape of their Latin ancestors. Pocion thus was changed to potion on the model of Latin pti. But the Latin word had also passed through Vulgar Latin into Old French in the different form poison. This word meant “beverage,” “liquid dose,” and also “poison beverage, poison.” The word poison is first recorded in Middle English in a work composed around 1200."

If I were to amuse you with a witty story right now, you'd think nothing of it because it's only what you have come to expect, is it not? You'd smile charmingly, make a note to remember the tale to relieve the tedium at your next staff meeting and once again give thanks to whatever force it was that guided you through cyberspace to sign up for this little missive.

But ... ummm ... what if I told you that this word comes (as do so many others) from Latin? And that its root is muser (to stare stupidly)? From Latin it travelled to Old French where it put in an appearance as amuser (to stupefy). When it finally arrived in the English language, it clung to its roots and was used to refer to that condition known out here as the "stunned mullet"... You know, that look that comes over people who are totally stupefied by what's going on around them. 

And now you can see how we get to our present meaning, can't you? Recall some of those "amusing" stories people have told you over the years ... The ones that take you step by interminable step through their latest holiday, operation, breakup ... Amusing? No. Stupefying? Yes.

Just to help you with your Trivia chit-chat for the holiday season, you may like to know that this same root also gives us our word Muse - you remember the Muses? They're the nine goddesses who presided over various arts. "The names of the Muses were Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polymnia or Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania" (Websters Dictionary)

Last week, I mused about cars and redundancies (don't ask ... you'll just have to read it for yourself) and cleverly slipped in an additional example for your entertainment .... OK - I inadvertently used one myself, as Chuck pointed out: 

"Another good newsletter, save for the fact that you used a redundancy that you may now add to the list of same you provided in this newsletter.
Scroll down a bit from your redundancy list and note that you used "poor unfortunates."  Not a critique....an observation! (Chuck Albert)

After reading last week's newsletter, Jane was reminded of her dad's ability to fix cars, too:

Sandi (from Wisconsin) recalled a difficulty she had with a troublesome expression: 

Speaking of words that cause trouble ... LaVonne found this neat little summary about one of the most cantankerous group of letters in the English language ... the dreaded -ough boys!

 The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all:
 "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

Do you know someone who could benefit from a bit of help in the language department? Why not give the gift that keeps on giving? Nothing says, "I had no idea what else to buy for you" quite like a book. You'll find dozens and dozens here. 

This week's quiz:

Match each word with its ANTONYM from the list:

humble, mendacious, ignominy, candid, malediction, obscure, prudent, meticulous, tolerant, pertinent

1. distinction

2. evident

3. prejudiced

4. disingenuous

5. haughty

6. irrelevant

7. careless

8. truthful

9. rash

10. blessing

Given the final word in this week's quiz, I felt this next story that Albert found was somehow fitting ...

A man’s car broke down as he was driving past a beautiful old monastery. He walked up the drive and knocked on the front door of the monastery. A monk answered, listened to the man’s story and graciously invited him to spend the night.

The monks fed the man and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep. The man thanked the monks and slept serenely until he was awakened by a strange yet beautiful sound. The next morning, as the monks repaired his car, he asked about the sound that woke him.

The monks said, “We’re sorry. We can't tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.” The man was disappointed, but eager to be gone, so he thanked the monks for their kindness and went on his way.

During quiet moments afterward, the man pondered the source of the alluring sound. Several years later, the man was driving in the same area. He stopped at the monastery on a whim and asked admittance. He explained to the monks that he had so enjoyed his previous stay, he wondered if he might be permitted to spend another night under their peaceful roof.

The monks agreed and the man stayed. Late that night, he heard the sound again.

The next morning, he begged the monks to explain the sound. The monks said, ”We’re sorry. We can't tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.”

By now, the man’s curiosity had turned to obsession. He decided to give up everything and become a monk if that was the only way to learn about the sound. He informed the monks of his decision and began the long and arduous task of becoming a monk.

Seventeen years later, the man was finally established as a true member of the order. When the celebration ended, he humbly went to the leader of the order and asked to be told the source of the sound. Silently, the old monk led the new monk to a huge wooden door. He opened the door with a golden key. That door swung open to reveal a second door of silver, then a third of gold and so on until they had passed through twelve doors, each more magnificent than the last.

The new monk’s face was awash with tears of joy as he finally beheld the wondrous source of the mysterious sound he had heard so many years before.

But, I can't tell you what it was. You’re not a monk.

See? There are some things you just can't know ...

Last week's quiz: 

Match up the adjectives with their meaning:

I occasionally add an extra word to the quiz list, just to keep you on your toes, but I usually remember to tell you in advance ... last week I forgot as Louise spotted: 

"Nefarious" is another word that I would have liked to use in reference to the estate agents who let my daughter down during her recent move. It means, "Infamous by way of being extremely wicked."

Thank you to everyone who's made a comment on the Map of the World - it's never too late to make your mark: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826    

If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to have your very own copy delivered to you on Friday, just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and why not spread the word? Send your friends a copy and invite them to join our merry band - we number over 8,000 now.

A Little Something Extra

"Regional interest sites are appearing online in increasing numbers. When I say "regional interest", I don't mean commercial tourism sites, which have been around for a while now. What I mean are citizen-centred sites, where local people can share knowledge and impressions of their home region with the rest of the world. These sites are the online equivalent of the community news rag, the historical society and local writers' group, all rolled into one. Like their paper and ink counterparts, they are promising places to offer your work to and can play an important role in getting you initial exposure and publishing experience."

This is an excellent way to break into writing for a wider audience. Read the rest of Susan Letham's article here: http://www.write101.com/regional.htm

Before you send your work off to a potential publisher, it must be as perfect as you can make it - and now there's an easy way you can edit your work like a professional:  http://www.write101.com/editorsoftware/affiliate_index.html

Word of the week: Ignipotent (adj) This great word is not one you can use for those ignorant sods who cut you off at the lights or stal the last parking spot at the shopping centre. No, it comes from two Latin words ignis (fire) and potens (powerful) and it means "presiding over fire; fiery."

Oxymoron of the week: shopping pleasure

Got a question about grammar, punctuation or any other language matter? Here's the place to go: http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3170114826 

I offer this week's Latin phrase without comment:

Quo magis mutantur, eo magis eaedem manent res. (The more things change, the more they stay the same.)

KWO MAH-gees moo-TAHN-tur, AY-oh MAH-gees EE-eye-daym MAH-nanyt RAYZ.

Regards,

Jennifer

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