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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 ...
#2: Post edited
by
PSTH
·
2021-08-20T06:55:34Z (over 3 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
PSTH
·
2021-03-27T05:02:07Z (over 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.