Words of disputed usage

Following on from last time, I also found a list of words commonly misused on Wikipedia. Again I thought it might be an interesting exercise to look at this through my etymologist eyes. I opted for an alphabetical list as much as I could.

Around is in the dictionary to mean 'in the vicinity' or perhaps 'encircling'. It is also used as a synonym for 'about' and also 'on'. Historically, the correct usage is seen from around 1600, prior to that it appears as 'on round' which might seem bad grammar but does make more sense.

Barter is so often wrongly used to mean 'negotiate' when bartering is correctly an exchange of goods. Interesting to note the word came from Old French barater where other meanings included 'cheat, deceive' and is related to Irish brath or 'treachery'.

Canvas is a strong fabric used as protection, it is not a way of judging or gathering support, that word is 'canvass'. The former comes from Old French chanevaz and Latin cannapaceus, both meaning 'made from hemp' - the word is also related to 'cannabis'. Canvass has an identical origin, probably due to a sheet of canvas being used to sift or examine something.

Discreet, meaning 'circumspect', is often confused with 'discrete' meaning 'separate from'. Both spellings were used for the first meaning until 1600, and both come from the Latin discretus 'separated'.

Eponymous refers to something which gives its name to something else, such as the eponymous hero of the novel Jane Eyre is the character Jane Eyre. Yet this is often reversed, such as when people refer to their vacuum cleaner (a Dyson, or Electrolux) and having done the 'hoovering' with it. It first appears in English in 1833. Clearly from Greek, it originated as eponymos, where it referred to the title of magistrates who had given their name to the years when they held office.

Forego is often mixed up with 'forgo'. The former means 'to precede' and the latter 'to go without'. Etymology does not help with these compound words.

Gone is the past participle of 'go', traceable to Proto-Indo-European ghe to release'. Went, which is the simple past tense of 'go', began as 'wend' and became the past tense of 'go' around the beginning of the 17th century.

Hoard is 'a collection of items deposited together', while a 'horde' is a 'collection of people'. The former comes from Proto-Indo-European ske 'to cover, conceal', the latter is a word coming from several Middle East languages meaning 'camp, army'.

Imply and infer are often reversed, when correctly 'imply' refers to the speaker and infer to the listener. Etymology does not help at all for these compound words, as we can see when we realise the Proto-Indo-European roots for these are words meaning 'plait', when it comes to imply, and 'to bear children' in the case of infer.

Levee and levy, where 'levee' is from a French word which has also given us 'lever' and meaning 'a raising', while 'levy' is a tax or surcharge but also comes from the Proto-Indo-European root ;eghw 'a raising'.

Myself or, as Joan Armatrading once sang, >My, Myself, I are often confused and yet there are very clear rules for the use of each. 'I' is only used as a subject; 'me' only used as an object; and 'myself' only as a reflexive object. In recent times 'myself' has also been used, and incorrectly so, as a form of hypercorrection - this as in "I myself saw it with my own eyes". Interesting to note that 'I' has only been used since the middle of the twelfth century, it came to English from Old Frisian ik and Proto-Germanic ek. 'Me' is found in just about every root language and goes right back to Proto-Indo-European me which is always used to mean 'I'. 'Myself' did not appear until the early sixteen century, and even then began as 'meself' and changed through misunderstanding of 'herself' and 'hisself' being gender based, when the latter is simply the early version of 'meself' and 'herself' a misunderstanding of the apparent gender reference of 'hisself'.

Novitiate is often used incorrectly. A novice is a trainee, but it is when used to refer to a trainee in a religious order that problems occur. Novitiate refers to the period when one was a novice or the time spent as a novice. It is not, as so often said, a description of a novice monk or nun. 'Novice' came from Old French novice (with the same meaning) and Latin novicus meaning 'newly arrived, inexperienced'. 'Novitiate' is not seen until the early seventeen centruty, and is also from the same root of novicius.

Of is only included because I have often heard 'should've', 'would've', and 'could've' used, especially when emphasised, as 'should of', 'would of', and 'could of' when clearly then suffix is not 'of' but 'have'. One of the worst characters I ever heard repeating this error was that former bastion of daytime morning television Jeremy Kyle, who so often gently warned the individual perceived as the less able parent "WELL YOU SHOULD OF!" Perhaps Mr Kyle would be interested to learn the etymology of 'of' takes us back to Proto-Indo-European apo meaning both 'off' and 'away', while 'have' is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kap 'to grasp'.

Perquisite is 'an extra privilege' and does not mean the same as 'prerequisite' or 'a predetermined condition'. Etymologically 'perquisite' appears in the fifteen century to mean 'property acquired by means other than inheritance', while 'prerequisite' is seen from 1630 and is from 'requisite', itself seen from the late foorteenth century when it was used to mean 'to inquire or ask a question'.

Regimen and regiment (and if you think that's implausible I did read 'regiment' in a book a couple of months ago when 'regimen' was clearly the correct word - and I won't mention the book or author or she might ignore me again) - are used to mean 'a system of order' while a regiment is a military unit. 'Regiment' came to English from Old French regiment 'government. rule' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European reg 'move in a straight line. 'Regimen' has exactly the same origins. The two words came into usage in English at almost the same moment and thus have likely always been confused.

Suit and suite are 'an article of clothing' and 'a series or set', respectively. Both share an identical in etymological terms, each from Old French suite, albeit appearing at difference times, around 1300 and 1670, respectively, and are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sekw 'to follow'.

Throw is sometimes given when 'throe' is correct. Etymologically 'throw' as in 'to toss, lob' comes from Proto-Indo-European tere originally meant 'rub, turn'; and 'throe' as in 'pang' if first seen in English as throwe meaning 'pain. pain of childbirth, agony of death' and is a;so thought to go back to the same Proto-Indo-European root'.

Wave instead of waive is ludicrously common - (I even saw it used on a mock exam question!) - and, as we all know, 'wave' is a hand gesture (no, not that one) and 'waive' means 'to refrain from insisting upon or using (a right or claim)'. The former is from Old English waefre 'restless, unstable' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-Germanic uebh meaning 'to move to and fro' (weave has the same origin) and the use as 'wave of the hand' not seen until the mid-fifteen century. What began as a legal term in Anglo-French weyver, to be precise 'deprive of legal protection', came from Old French guevr 'to abandon, give back' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weip 'to turn, tremble ecstatically'.

Idiotic Idioms

By now most of us will have suffered the misfortune of having encountered at least of few minutes of Jeremy Kyle and heard him use a seemingly infinite string of dumb and gross cliches - full house; early doors; grow a pair, etc. As these phrases seem to be catching, I wondered just when these were first coined and whether there is any explanation as to the origins of this drivel?

EARLY DOORS - one I find particularly annoying as it is in almost constant use by football commentators and pundits. It is most often attributed to Ron Atkinson, better known as a manager than a player (and for very good reason), who may well have made it popular with others in the media but certainly did not invent the phrase. The earliest references come from the days of music hall, when the cheap seats were available on a first-come first-serve basis, unlike the better seats which would have seen less demand and possibly pre-booked. Hence the doors to the ticket office were effectively opened twice, firstly for the cheaper and unreserved seats and thus referring to something obtained or achieved 'early doors'.

GROW A PAIR - is something many find offensive for its obvious sexual overtones. However think about what the user is saying and how it is used. Invariably it is intended to end a debate or discussion, therefore should be seen as three words replacing "I most certainly do not agree with your statement but have neither the word power nor debating skills to put together a contradictory argument". Origins are hotly disputed but seems to be fairly recent and thus probably came from American English and, along with the similar phrase 'man up', could well have military origins.

FULL HOUSE - clearly comes from the term used in poker - for those unaware (like me) it refers to a hand with three of a kind and a pair - which apparently beats a flush but not four of a kind. In general parlance the phrase means 'everything, without exception' but this is hardly true of the poker hand or one would have thought four of a kind would be more of a 'full house'. Some think this began as 'full hand', while others suggest the pair represent the parents and the three of a kind the kids in a 'full house'.

NO-BRAINER - suggests this requires little mental agility to be understood. It comes from American English and is first seen in print in December 1959 in the strip cartoon The Berrys.

24-7 - another of my personal dislikes, so much so I multiplied the two numbers and always use '168 hours a week' - once did so to a barrister and he, baffled by the phrase, learned it was something I use to get ahead in any discussion even though it certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject. Said barrister was so delighted by me throwing him he asked if he could use it in the courtroom whenever he could. The phrase 24-7 is said to have been coined by the US magazine Sports Illustrated when, in 1983, spoke of Jerry Reynolds describing his jump shot as a useful weapon at any time.

BAD HAIR DAY - although this first appeared in print in 1988, the phrase remained virtually unknown until four years later when heard in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

BANG ON ABOUT - using 'bang' instead of 'exactly' originates around 1940 in America, although why and by whom is a puzzle.

BILLY NO MATES - not seen in print before 1996 when the Daily Mirror newspaper printed a report on the University Boat Race under the headline NICE LADS, SHAME ABOUT THE BOAT RACE included a biography on each rower, including the 21-year-old student of theology, standing 6ft 3ins and weighing in at 12st 11lbs, who's nickname is given as Billy No-Mates.

CHICK FLICK - a phrase not seen until the 1990s and probably first applied to the 1991 movie Thelma and Louise, itself promoted with the line "Someone said get a life .... they got a life".

GRASS UP - not used outside of the criminal fraternity until the 1990s, although first appearing in print in the 1930s. The term likely originates from 'snake in the grass', snakes seen as evil figures at least since the book of Genesis was first penned.

HAPPY AS LARRY - has been used to describe someone overjoyed since at least 1875. Its original use almost certainly came from Australia or New Zealand although just who Larry was remains uncertain. Either this refers to Australian boxer Larry Foley (1847-1917) who retired undefeated, at the age of 32, with his final purse amounting to a staggering £1,000. Hence he would have been smiling rather a lot. It is also suggested this came from an antipodean slang term larrikin speaking a 'a ruffian, hooligan' and enjoys a good lark.

HAVE NO TRUCK WITH - meaning 'to have nothing to do with' but originally used to mean the complete opposite, 'to do business with' in the 17th century. It comes from French troque meaning 'an exchange, a barter'.

OFF HIS OWN BAT - and never 'off his own back' which is simply a misheard version, this meaning 'on his own'. The first mention in print dates from 1742, when Thomas Waghorn wrote about cricketer Richard Newland the world's first truly great all-rounder known as 'the Slendon Man'. All the original comments regarding 'off his own bat' referred to a score of 40 runs or more.

SQUEAKY BUM TIME - this dumb phrase speaks of 'the tense final moments of a competition' and is first found in print on March 18th 2003 in the Daily Express Newspaper and a quote from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson when attempting to play mind games with rivals Arsenal.

I looked up the origins of the name 'Kyle' and find this is a noun in Scotland defined as 'a narrow channel of water between two islands or between an island the mainland, a strait or sound'. Perhaps this last meaning of 'sound' could lead to the use of 'kyle' as a euphemism and defined as 'a sound, particularly one considered most irritating'.