One interesting word this week is “disaster” used as a verb. Johnson says the verb “disaster” comes from its noun form and has two usages: “To blast by the stroke of an unfavorable star,” and, “To afflict; to mischief.” The noun form “disaster” has the same usages as the verb, just tailored to the substantive use.
The first usage is obviously connected to astrology for it
considers times of ill-favor to be the work of an angry star or planet. The
second usage is how it is commonly considered – a time of calamity, often as
the result of natural forces, such as hurricanes or floods. What seems the most
unfamiliar use of “disaster” is as a verb – an action done to its object. The Oxford
English Dictionary gives several examples of historical use of “disaster”
as a verb. A line from M. Cutler’s 1778 journal is apt, “The French fleet was
so disastered they could by no means afford us assistance.” The meaning is easy
to ascertain, even without more context. The French fleet was so damaged or afflicted
by some sort of crisis that it did not have the capacity to give aid to others
on the sea. To modern ears it might seem humorous to her a man say, “I’m
disastered,” rather than, “I’m ruined.” Though the meanings are the same, the
one is common and the other uncommon.
Another interesting word from this week is “disbud.” Johnson
gives, “With gardeners” as its source – hardly a strong or convincing etymology.
The meaning given is, “To take away the branches or sprigs newly put forth,
that are ill placed.” Johnson cites this as coming from a dictionary and is labelled
with the “Dict.” designation. Johnson used this notation when he did not
have a quotation to prove its literary use. Today one would likely say or write
that they had pruned the plant in question to secure its best possible growth.
The formation of “disbud” seems to the simple annexation of
the negative prefix “dis” to the object removed, with a literal meaning of “no
bud.” The two entries before “disbud” show similar joining characteristics, “disbench”
and “disbranch.” The first word means to remove from a seat and the second to
remove a branch. Again, the negative prefix is simply added to the object of removal.
Yet another “dis” word of interest is “discandy.” Johnson
says this means, “To dissolve; to melt” and is the combination of “dis” and “candy.”
Of the verb “candy,” Johnson writes that its basic meaning is “To conserve with
sugar” or “To form into congelations.” “Congelations” refers to that which is
turned into a solid. Thus, Johnson says to “discandy” is “to melt.”
Sadly, for all those lovers of sweets who may be perusing Johnson,
there is no noun sense of “candy” referring to hard or chocolate sweets modern
readers associate with candy. Because Johnson does not include “candy” as it is
normally thought of does not mean that candy did not exist in his day. However,
cane sugar was an expensive commodity in the eighteenth century and not usually
found in common American homes or only in small amounts and reserved for
special occasions. Other types of sweeteners could be found like honey or maple
syrup – sugars more directly related to the farms and woodlands of America. How
different the eighteenth century was compared to contemporary times, even with
an item as ubiquitous as candy.
Until next time.
John
No comments:
Post a Comment