Languages & Linguistics

28%

+0 −3

How did 'rendre' semantically shift from meaning 'give back' to 🡺 1. 'make, cause to be' 🡲 2. 'represent, depict'?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology

37%

+1 −3

What semantic notions underlie 'con-' + 'sign' 🡺 with "deliver or transmit (goods) for sale or custody"?

0 answers · posted 1mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 1mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology

28%

+0 −3

How did commeātus semantically shift from meaning "passage" 🢂 to "leave of absence"?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

77%

+5 −0

Possessive vs accusative case for nominalized clauses

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by Moshi‭

English nominalization

75%

+4 −0

English dialects and he/she versus it

2 answers · posted 4mo ago by tommi‭ · edited 4mo ago by Lundin‭

English dialects pronouns

80%

+6 −0

Where, here, and there: What is the origin, and can it be generalized?

0 answers · posted 4mo ago by Moshi‭

English historical-linguistics

37%

+1 −3

Why did linguists impute Proto-Italic *moini-, *moinos- "duty, obligation, task" 🡺 to PIE root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move"?

0 answers · posted 6mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology pie

66%

+2 −0

What is ทำดีได้อย่าเด่นจะเป็นภัย in Thai?

0 answers · posted 6mo ago by deleted user

Thai

28%

+0 −3

How does 'contango' semantically appertain to (1) 'continue'? (2) Or 'contain' as in Spanish 'contengo'?

0 answers · posted 7mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 5mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology finance

83%

+8 −0

Why "me too" and not "I too"?

1 answer · posted 3mo ago by Moshi‭ · last activity 3mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

English historical-linguistics Germanic-languages

33%

+0 −2

What semantic notions underlie "pull, drag" (in tractō) 🡒 "negotiate, bargain" (in 'treat')?

1 answer · posted 8mo ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 8mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology

80%

+6 −0

When does "me-" go on verbs?

1 answer · posted 2mo ago by General Sebast1an‭ · last activity 23h ago by General Sebast1an‭

Indonesian verb

80%

+6 −0

Is obrigado used in case of unclear gender of the author?

1 answer · posted 3mo ago by tommi‭ · last activity 2mo ago by Quasímodo‭

Portuguese gender

28%

+0 −3

Demise — How did "dismiss, put away" semantically shift to mean 🡲 a transfer of property, or the grant of a lease?

1 answer · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology legal-language

50%

+1 −1

Why did linguists choose 'Patient' (noun) to denote this Thematic Role?

1 answer · posted 9mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 9mo ago by Keelan‭

English technical-terminology linguistics

28%

+0 −3

How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' (⟶ inasmuch) compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"?

0 answers · posted 7mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 6mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology

75%

+4 −0

Why is "djinn" the plural of "djinni"?

1 answer · posted 3mo ago by gmcgath‭ · last activity 3mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Arabic grammatical-number

60%

+7 −4

What's the difference between "in doing so" and "by doing so"?

2 answers · posted 8mo ago by sinneddennis‭ · last activity 4mo ago by gmcgath‭

English American-English

42%

+1 −2

What does Etymonline mean by 'to raise (someone) out of trouble'?

1 answer · posted 1mo ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 1mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

etymology

28%

+0 −3

How did mittō (to send) semantically shift 🢂 in Vulgar Latin 🡺 to mean "put"?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

28%

+0 −3

How did "dispose" semantically shift from meaning "put apart" 🡺 to "transfer title to property"?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin legal-language

28%

+0 −3

If assūmptiō = 'take up', then can ad- (prefix) = 'up'? But why, when super- = 'up'?

1 answer · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

Latin

25%

+0 −4

How did in- + partire compound to mean "communicate as knowledge of information" (impart)?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 7d ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

75%

+4 −0

Why did the Tironian et survive in Irish, when it died out everywhere else?

1 answer · posted 7mo ago by TRiG‭ · last activity 7mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Latin

76%

+8 −1

Why does German use the third person plural for the second person polite?

2 answers · posted 3mo ago by gmcgath‭ · last activity 2mo ago by Keelan‭

grammar pronouns German

25%

+0 −4

What semantic notions underlie “to exchange” (PIE *meyth₂-) 🢂 “to give, bestow” 🡺 “to let go, send” (Proto-Italic *meitō)?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Proto-Indo-European

50%

+1 −1

Modern English words originating in Norman

1 answer · posted 8mo ago by deleted user · last activity 8mo ago by dsr‭

English Norman Brittonic

37%

+1 −3

Isn't lībra pondō circumlocutory? Because both lībra and pondō meant "weight"?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

Latin

28%

+0 −3

What semantic notions underlie "inmost, innermost" (intimus) 🡲 with "make known, announce" (intimo)?

0 answers · posted 2mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 2mo ago by PSTH‭

Latin

66%

+2 −0

Malay languages or Indonesian languages --- which is more close to Philippine languages?

1 answer · posted 1y ago by deleted user · last activity 1y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Malayo-Polynesian-languages

33%

+0 −2

Why does the Latin prefix 'in-' also mean the English 'to', when Latin 'ad-' already means 'to'?

0 answers · posted 9mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 9mo ago by PSTH‭

Latin

42%

+1 −2

Why does "counter" mean the area of a letter entirely, or partially, enclosed by a letter form or a symbol?

0 answers · posted 1y ago by PSTH‭ · edited 9mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology English

50%

+1 −1

scilicet: How did 'it is permitted to know' semantically shift to signify 'that is to say, namely'?

1 answer · posted 1y ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 12mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Latin

50%

+1 −1

How does taking, buying, procuring (emō) semantically appertain to destruction, annihilation (perimō)?

1 answer · posted 10mo ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 10mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

71%

+3 −0

What does the letter do ৡ in Bangla?

1 answer · posted 7mo ago by deleted user · last activity 7mo ago by deleted user

Bengali

66%

+2 −0

How did "bail" shift to signify "money deposited as a guarantee when released"?

1 answer · posted 11mo ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 11mo ago by Ullallulloo‭

etymology legal-language

50%

+0 −0

How did syn + ek + dekhesthai compound to signify "supply a thought or word; take with something else, join in receiving"?

0 answers · posted 11mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Greek

50%

+0 −0

What is "Charter change bill" in English?

1 answer · posted 1y ago by deleted user · last activity 12mo ago by mcalex‭

English

50%

+0 −0

The Thai words for "definition" and its derivates

0 answers · posted over 1 year ago by deleted user · edited over 1 year ago by deleted user

Thai

40%

+0 −1

How does saeculum ( “generation” or “lifetime") semantically relate to PIE root *se- "to sow"?

1 answer · posted 11mo ago by PSTH‭ · last activity 10mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

etymology Latin

40%

+0 −1

How did "put under" shift to signify "cause to take the place of", then "enough"?

1 answer · posted over 1 year ago by PSTH‭ · last activity over 1 year ago by Jirka Hanika‭

etymology Latin

50%

+0 −0

How can "lemma" be translated as "rede-ship" with merely Germanic etymons?

0 answers · posted over 1 year ago by PSTH‭ · edited over 1 year ago by PSTH‭

etymology

50%

+0 −0

Why did David Ricardo coin "rent", to signify income from a factor of production that exceeds the minimum amount necessary (to beget that factor of production)?

0 answers · posted over 1 year ago by PSTH‭ · edited over 1 year ago by Moshi‭

etymology English

50%

+0 −0

How did 'equity' semantically broaden to mean 'common shares'?

0 answers · posted 11mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 11mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology finance

33%

+0 −2

What semantic notions underlie vērum's 2 superficially unrelated senses — "truly" vs. 'but; yet; however'?

0 answers · posted 8mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 8mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

33%

+0 −2

What's the semantic field of "putare"?

0 answers · posted 1y ago by PSTH‭ · edited 1y ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

66%

+2 −0

Is it true to say that Lao script is a simplified version of the Thai script?

1 answer · posted over 1 year ago by deleted user · last activity over 1 year ago by deleted user

orthography Thai Lao

28%

+0 −3

How did (the cross-linguistic univerbation) 'nothing/not/none/no + less' semantically shift to mean 'despite'?

0 answers · posted 7mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 7mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology

28%

+0 −3

How did prae + scribere semantically shift from meaning "write before" ⟶ "a title or right acquired through long use or uninterrupted possession"?

0 answers · posted 6mo ago by PSTH‭ · edited 6mo ago by PSTH‭

etymology Latin

77%

+5 −0

Has there ever been a situation of perfect bilingualism, without falling in diglossia?

0 answers · posted 3mo ago by fedorqui‭ · edited 3mo ago by Moshi‭

historical-linguistics linguistics sociolinguistics

Communities