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Q&A How does "drive out" shift to signify "weigh out"?

I boldened the relevant parts of the quotations, so that you don't have to read all of the quotations. I'm untrained at metaphors! How did "drive out" develop the metaphor of "weigh out"? exact ...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology Latin
#2: Post edited by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2021-08-20T06:55:34Z (over 2 years ago)
  • I boldened the relevant parts of the quotations, so that you don't have to read all of the quotations. I'm untrained at metaphors! How did "drive out" develop the metaphor of "weigh out"?
  • >### exact [15]
  • >The adjective *exact* ‘precise’ and the
  • verb *exact* ‘demand with severity’ have
  • undergone considerable semantic divergence
  • over the centuries, but they both go back to the
  • same source, the Latin verb *exigere* (from which
  • English also got *essay, examine, exigent* [15],
  • and *exiguous* [17]). **This, a compound of the
  • prefix *ex-* ‘out’ and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of
  • English act and agent), meant originally ‘drive
  • out’, but in due course it developed the
  • metaphorical senses ‘demand’ (preserved in the
  • English verb), ‘weigh accurately’, and ‘bring to
  • completion or perfection’**. These last two were
  • taken up adjectivally in the Latin past participle
  • *exactus*, from which English gets *exact*.
  • >### examine [14]
  • >Like *essay* and *exact*, *examine*
  • comes ultimately from **Latin *exigere*, a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix *ex-* ‘out’
  • and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of English act
  • and agent). This originally meant literally ‘drive
  • out’, but a metaphorical sense ‘weigh
  • accurately’ developed** which was carried over
  • into a derived noun *exāmen* ‘weighing’. This in
  • turn formed the basis of another derivative, the
  • verb *exāmināre* ‘weigh’, hence ‘weigh up,
  • ponder, consider, test, examine’. The
  • abbreviation *exam* for examination dates from
  • the late 19th century.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 201 Right column.
  • I boldened the relevant parts of the quotations, so that you don't have to read all of the quotations. I'm untrained at metaphors! How did "drive out" develop the metaphor of "weigh out"?
  • >### exact [15]
  • >
  • >The adjective *exact* ‘precise’ and the
  • verb *exact* ‘demand with severity’ have
  • undergone considerable semantic divergence
  • over the centuries, but they both go back to the
  • same source, the Latin verb *exigere* (from which
  • English also got *essay, examine, exigent* [15],
  • and *exiguous* [17]). **This, a compound of the
  • prefix *ex-* ‘out’ and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of
  • English act and agent), meant originally ‘drive
  • out’, but in due course it developed the
  • metaphorical senses ‘demand’ (preserved in the
  • English verb), ‘weigh accurately’, and ‘bring to
  • completion or perfection’**. These last two were
  • taken up adjectivally in the Latin past participle
  • *exactus*, from which English gets *exact*.
  • >### examine [14]
  • >
  • >Like *essay* and *exact*, *examine*
  • comes ultimately from **Latin *exigere*, a
  • compound verb formed from the prefix *ex-* ‘out’
  • and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of English act
  • and agent). This originally meant literally ‘drive
  • out’, but a metaphorical sense ‘weigh
  • accurately’ developed** which was carried over
  • into a derived noun *exāmen* ‘weighing’. This in
  • turn formed the basis of another derivative, the
  • verb *exāmināre* ‘weigh’, hence ‘weigh up,
  • ponder, consider, test, examine’. The
  • abbreviation *exam* for examination dates from
  • the late 19th century.
  • *Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 201 Right column.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar PSTH‭ · 2021-03-27T05:02:07Z (about 3 years ago)
How does "drive out" shift to signify "weigh out"?
I boldened the relevant parts of the quotations, so that you don't have to read all of the quotations. I'm untrained at metaphors! How did "drive out" develop the metaphor of "weigh out"? 

>### exact [15] 

>The adjective *exact* ‘precise’ and the
verb *exact* ‘demand with severity’ have
undergone considerable semantic divergence
over the centuries, but they both go back to the
same source, the Latin verb *exigere* (from which
English also got *essay, examine, exigent* [15],
and *exiguous* [17]). **This, a compound of the
prefix *ex-* ‘out’ and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of
English act and agent), meant originally ‘drive
out’, but in due course it developed the
metaphorical senses ‘demand’ (preserved in the
English verb), ‘weigh accurately’, and ‘bring to
completion or perfection’**. These last two were
taken up adjectivally in the Latin past participle
*exactus*, from which English gets *exact*.

>### examine [14]

>Like *essay* and *exact*, *examine*
comes ultimately from **Latin *exigere*, a
compound verb formed from the prefix *ex-* ‘out’
and *agere* ‘lead, drive’ (source of English act
and agent). This originally meant literally ‘drive
out’, but a metaphorical sense ‘weigh
accurately’ developed** which was carried over
into a derived noun *exāmen* ‘weighing’. This in
turn formed the basis of another derivative, the
verb *exāmināre* ‘weigh’, hence ‘weigh up,
ponder, consider, test, examine’. The
abbreviation *exam* for examination dates from
the late 19th century.

*Word Origins* (2005 2e) by John Ayto. p 201 Right column.