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I don't understand why English and Latin (see the two quotations below) uses the notion of "(be)fall" to signify "happening". How are they related semantically? accident [14] Etymologically, an...
Question
etymology
#2: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-11-13T15:22:26Z (about 3 years ago)
- I don't understand why English and Latin (see the two quotations below) uses the notion of "(be)fall" to signify "happening". How are they related semantically?
- >### accident [14]
- >Etymologically, an accident is
- simply ‘something which happens’ – ‘an event’.
- That was what the word originally meant in
- English, and it was only subsequently that the
- senses ‘something which happens by chance’
- and ‘mishap’ developed. It comes from the Latin
- verb *cadere* ‘fall’ (also the source of such diverse
- English words as *case, decadent, and
- deciduous*). The addition of the prefix *ad-* ‘to’
- produced *accidere*, literally ‘fall to’, hence
- ‘happen to’. Its present participle was used as an adjective in the Latin phrase *rēs accidēns* ‘thing
- happening’, and *accidēns* soon took on the role
- of a noun on its own, passing (in its stem form
- *accident-*) into Old French and thence into
- English.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 3 Left column.
- >### case [13]
- >There are two distinct words *case* in
- English, both acquired via Old French from
- Latin and both members of very large families.
- *Case* ‘circumstance’ was borrowed from Old
- French *cas*, which in turn came from Latin *cāsus*
- ‘fall, chance’. This was formed from the base of
- the verb *cadere* ‘fall’. The progression of senses
- is from the concrete ‘that which falls’ to the
- metaphorical ‘that which befalls, that which
- happens (by chance)’ (and English *chance* is
- also derived ultimately from Latin *cadere*).
- Other related words in English include *accident,
- cadence, cadaver, cheat, chute, coincide, decadent, decay, deciduous, and occasion.*
- I omit the rest of the entry, as it appertains the second unrelated definition of *case* meaning "container". Op cit. p 96.
- >### occasion [14]
- >Like English *befall*, *occasion*
- depends on a metaphorical connection between
- ‘falling’ and ‘happening’. Its ultimate source is
- the Latin verb *occidere* ‘go down’, a compound
- formed from the prefix *ob-* ‘down’ and *cadere*
- ‘fall’ (source of English *cadence, case
- ‘circumstance’, decadent*, etc). The figurative
- notion of a ‘falling together of favourable
- circumstances’ led to the coining of a derived
- noun *occasiō*, meaning ‘appropriate time,
- opportunity’, and hence ‘reason’ and ‘cause’.
- English acquired it via Old French *occasion*.
- Also from Latin *occidere* comes English
- *occident* [14], a reference to the ‘west’ as the
- quarter in which the sun ‘goes down’ or sets.
- Op cit, p 355.
- I don't understand why English and Latin (see the two quotations below) uses the notion of "(be)fall" to signify "happening". How are they related semantically?
- >### accident [14]
- >
- >Etymologically, an accident is
- simply ‘something which happens’ – ‘an event’.
- That was what the word originally meant in
- English, and it was only subsequently that the
- senses ‘something which happens by chance’
- and ‘mishap’ developed. It comes from the Latin
- verb *cadere* ‘fall’ (also the source of such diverse
- English words as *case, decadent, and
- deciduous*). The addition of the prefix *ad-* ‘to’
- produced *accidere*, literally ‘fall to’, hence
- ‘happen to’. Its present participle was used as an adjective in the Latin phrase *rēs accidēns* ‘thing
- happening’, and *accidēns* soon took on the role
- of a noun on its own, passing (in its stem form
- *accident-*) into Old French and thence into
- English.
- *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 3 Left column.
- >### case [13]
- >
- >There are two distinct words *case* in
- English, both acquired via Old French from
- Latin and both members of very large families.
- *Case* ‘circumstance’ was borrowed from Old
- French *cas*, which in turn came from Latin *cāsus*
- ‘fall, chance’. This was formed from the base of
- the verb *cadere* ‘fall’. The progression of senses
- is from the concrete ‘that which falls’ to the
- metaphorical ‘that which befalls, that which
- happens (by chance)’ (and English *chance* is
- also derived ultimately from Latin *cadere*).
- Other related words in English include *accident,
- cadence, cadaver, cheat, chute, coincide, decadent, decay, deciduous, and occasion.*
- I omit the rest of the entry, as it appertains the second unrelated definition of *case* meaning "container". Op cit. p 96.
- >### occasion [14]
- >
- >Like English *befall*, *occasion*
- depends on a metaphorical connection between
- ‘falling’ and ‘happening’. Its ultimate source is
- the Latin verb *occidere* ‘go down’, a compound
- formed from the prefix *ob-* ‘down’ and *cadere*
- ‘fall’ (source of English *cadence, case
- ‘circumstance’, decadent*, etc). The figurative
- notion of a ‘falling together of favourable
- circumstances’ led to the coining of a derived
- noun *occasiō*, meaning ‘appropriate time,
- opportunity’, and hence ‘reason’ and ‘cause’.
- English acquired it via Old French *occasion*.
- Also from Latin *occidere* comes English
- *occident* [14], a reference to the ‘west’ as the
- quarter in which the sun ‘goes down’ or sets.
- Op cit, p 355.
#1: Initial revision
by
PSTH
·
2021-03-20T02:11:07Z (over 3 years ago)
How does "happening" appertain to "(be)falling"?
I don't understand why English and Latin (see the two quotations below) uses the notion of "(be)fall" to signify "happening". How are they related semantically? >### accident [14] >Etymologically, an accident is simply ‘something which happens’ – ‘an event’. That was what the word originally meant in English, and it was only subsequently that the senses ‘something which happens by chance’ and ‘mishap’ developed. It comes from the Latin verb *cadere* ‘fall’ (also the source of such diverse English words as *case, decadent, and deciduous*). The addition of the prefix *ad-* ‘to’ produced *accidere*, literally ‘fall to’, hence ‘happen to’. Its present participle was used as an adjective in the Latin phrase *rēs accidēns* ‘thing happening’, and *accidēns* soon took on the role of a noun on its own, passing (in its stem form *accident-*) into Old French and thence into English. *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 3 Left column. >### case [13] >There are two distinct words *case* in English, both acquired via Old French from Latin and both members of very large families. *Case* ‘circumstance’ was borrowed from Old French *cas*, which in turn came from Latin *cāsus* ‘fall, chance’. This was formed from the base of the verb *cadere* ‘fall’. The progression of senses is from the concrete ‘that which falls’ to the metaphorical ‘that which befalls, that which happens (by chance)’ (and English *chance* is also derived ultimately from Latin *cadere*). Other related words in English include *accident, cadence, cadaver, cheat, chute, coincide, decadent, decay, deciduous, and occasion.* I omit the rest of the entry, as it appertains the second unrelated definition of *case* meaning "container". Op cit. p 96. >### occasion [14] >Like English *befall*, *occasion* depends on a metaphorical connection between ‘falling’ and ‘happening’. Its ultimate source is the Latin verb *occidere* ‘go down’, a compound formed from the prefix *ob-* ‘down’ and *cadere* ‘fall’ (source of English *cadence, case ‘circumstance’, decadent*, etc). The figurative notion of a ‘falling together of favourable circumstances’ led to the coining of a derived noun *occasiō*, meaning ‘appropriate time, opportunity’, and hence ‘reason’ and ‘cause’. English acquired it via Old French *occasion*. Also from Latin *occidere* comes English *occident* [14], a reference to the ‘west’ as the quarter in which the sun ‘goes down’ or sets. Op cit, p 355.