Post History
I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for agree (v.) below unsettles me. a gré is a prepositional phrase, correct? If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a ve...
#3: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2022-12-01T08:56:27Z (almost 2 years ago)
- I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for [agree (v.)](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=agree) below unsettles me.
- 1. _a gré_ is a prepositional phrase, correct?
- 2. If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a verb (e.g. _agreer_)? Can you please make this shift feel more intuitive, or naturalize this shift?
- > late 14c., "to give consent, assent,"
- **from Old French _agreer_ "to please, satisfy; to receive with favor, take pleasure in" (12c.), a contraction of phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," literally "to (one's) liking"
- (or a like contraction in Medieval Latin) from _a_,**
- from Latin _ad_ "to" (see ad-) + Old French _gre, gret_ "that which pleases,"
- from Latin _gratum_, neuter of _gratus_ "pleasing, welcome, agreeable"
- (from suffixed form of PIE root \*gwere- (2) "to favor").
- >
> In Middle English also "to please, gratify, satisfy," a sense preserved in_ agreeable_. Of parties, "come to agreement; make a settlement," mid-15c.; meaning "to be in harmony in opinions" is from late 15c. Of things, "to coincide," from 1520s. To agree to differ is from 1785 (also agree to disagree, 1792).
- I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for [agree (v.)](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=agree) below unsettles me.
- 1. _a gré_ is a prepositional phrase, correct?
- 2. If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a verb (e.g. _agreer_)? Can you please make this shift feel more intuitive, or naturalize this shift?
- > late 14c., "to give consent, assent,"
- **from Old French _agreer_ "to please, satisfy; to receive with favor, take pleasure in" (12c.), a contraction of phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," literally "to (one's) liking"
- (or a like contraction in Medieval Latin) from _a_,**
- from Latin _ad_ "to" (see ad-) + Old French _gre, gret_ "that which pleases,"
- from Latin _gratum_, neuter of _gratus_ "pleasing, welcome, agreeable"
- (from suffixed form of PIE root \*gwere- (2) "to favor").
- >
- > In Middle English also "to please, gratify, satisfy," a sense preserved in_ agreeable_. Of parties, "come to agreement; make a settlement," mid-15c.; meaning "to be in harmony in opinions" is from late 15c. Of things, "to coincide," from 1520s. To agree to differ is from 1785 (also agree to disagree, 1792).
- [amerce (v.)](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=amerce) is another 'good example of how an adverbial phrase in legalese tends to become a verb (compare [abandon](https://www.etymonline.com/word/abandon?ref=etymonline_crossreference)).'
#2: Post edited
by
Moshi
·
2020-12-02T18:05:42Z (almost 4 years ago)
Tagged with languages, feel free to change if I missed the mark
#1: Initial revision
by
PSTH
·
2020-12-02T06:30:31Z (almost 4 years ago)
How can a prepositional phrase shift to become a verb?
I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for [agree (v.)](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=agree) below unsettles me. 1. _a gré_ is a prepositional phrase, correct? 2. If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a verb (e.g. _agreer_)? Can you please make this shift feel more intuitive, or naturalize this shift? > late 14c., "to give consent, assent," **from Old French _agreer_ "to please, satisfy; to receive with favor, take pleasure in" (12c.), a contraction of phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," literally "to (one's) liking" (or a like contraction in Medieval Latin) from _a_,** from Latin _ad_ "to" (see ad-) + Old French _gre, gret_ "that which pleases," from Latin _gratum_, neuter of _gratus_ "pleasing, welcome, agreeable" (from suffixed form of PIE root \*gwere- (2) "to favor"). > > In Middle English also "to please, gratify, satisfy," a sense preserved in_ agreeable_. Of parties, "come to agreement; make a settlement," mid-15c.; meaning "to be in harmony in opinions" is from late 15c. Of things, "to coincide," from 1520s. To agree to differ is from 1785 (also agree to disagree, 1792).