Posted by Larry Hoover on August 23, 2003, at 6:58:38
Subtitle: Why obsolete word meanings have no value in debate.
If anyone recalls form a few weeks ago, I very publicly worked through my discomfort with respect to what I felt was ignorance about the impact of verbal violence. It can take me a little bit of time to get to the root emotion, because I need to gain the impression that I'm understood and that I understand others before I address the emotions themselves. Well, there are a few threads that have played out here which have left me very uncomfortable, and I can now discuss why that is. It has totally disturbed my sleep last night, and I feel the need to express my opinions and feelings, in full knowledge that I am a biased observer. I wasn't even a participant, and my feelings were hurt. So, in case somebody goes there, *I* was hurt by what I read. I know other people were, too.
Etymology, the study of the origin of words, can be a rather fascinating journey back in time, to different cultures and different ways of thinking. I saw that process used as a weapon, and I saw people being hurt, and I really think that incivility was breached long before Dr. Bob intervened.
If you'll permit me to give a couple examples of what I mean....
There is an Old English word, arising from the Germanic, spelled shite (or shyte), which refers to an illness in cattle, producing copious diarrhea, which can lead to fatal dehydration. We now call that scours. In common usage today, and by placing the prefix bull- in front of it (still quite contextual, non?), you develop the word symbolized by BS. When one hears that word uttered, particularly in a heated emotional environment, would one think of references to cattle diarrhea? I think not. We accept that it is a reference to untruthfulness, and claiming the former meaning would not be accepted as a defense for the use of the word. It is similarly inappropriate to reach back towards an archaic meaning (with reference to the "nasty piece of work" concept), as that is akin to putting words in another's mouth. What makes that style of "debate" particularly nasty is that the exact words used can be verified, despite the lack of intent to refer to the archaic meaning. It's like referring to a "rule of thumb". Look up what that used to mean. Nobody means that today.
Another example is the word "nice". I hear it all the time, as in "She's such a nice girl." If I was to use the word today, I would definitely be referring to this colloquial meaning. However, the word is of ancient lineage, deriving from the Latin word for ignorant (nescius, literally, ne (not) and the participle form of the verb scire (to know)). Over the years, a new meaning arose, and you may still see that meaning in scholarly debate, e.g. "He made a nice argument.", where nice means delicate, detailed, precise. However, even in that same meaning, nice came to be used pejoratively, and the same sentence I used as an example could have been taken to mean that the argument raised was picayune or hair-splitting. Frankly, I saw a lot of nice argument posted in this forum, over the last couple days.
Sometimes, I find that referring to older meanings has a soothing effect. For example, the word disease. Years ago, as part of my journey towards wellness, I used 12-step programs to address my substance abuse problems. One of the key concepts with which I struggles was the idea that I had "the disease of addiction". Today, the word has a rather negative medical connotation. However, I discovered that the word came into English from the Old French diseasu, which meant "not at peace", in a spiritual sense. I could not think of a *better* way to describe my struggle with addiction.
There are positive ways to use etymology. I have seen other processes at work here.
I know I don't have to read any thread, but when I see one with furious activity, I am drawn to it, out of curiosity. Whatever was going on (I'm not going to look for motives in another's postings), I'm glad it's over.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:253323
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20030808/msgs/253323.html