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Q&A What semantic notions underlie 'to advise, counsel, guess' (rǣda) 🡺 'peruse' (read)?

How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’? How do they semantically appertain? read [OE] In most western European languages, the wor...

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

Question etymology

#11: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-06T03:59:30Z (about 2 years ago)

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
~~2. Isn't this semantic shift unsyntactical and infelicitous?~~
~~>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.~~
~~is felicitous.~~
~~>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of '**read**') Advisee.~~
~~is infelicitous. The correct syntax is~~
~~>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.~~
~~To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!~~
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#10: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T20:36:39Z (about 2 years ago)

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
~~>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.~~
~~The correct syntax is~~
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
is felicitous.
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of '**read**') Advisee.
is infelicitous. The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#9: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T06:31:31Z (about 2 years ago)

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
~~2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?~~
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#8: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T06:22:35Z (about 2 years ago)

Copy Link

Raw

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?
~~>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.~~
could not felicitously mean
~~>Advisor _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.~~
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
~~[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.~~
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor's writing _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#7: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T06:07:36Z (about 2 years ago)

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
~~>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisee.~~
The correct syntax is
~~>Advisee _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisor's writing!~~
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor _rǣda_ (_qua_' **read**') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (_qua_ '**read**') Advisor's writing.
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#6: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T06:05:09Z (about 2 years ago)

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**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
~~2. This semantic shift appears syntactically infelicitous!~~
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisor's writing!
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. Isn't this semantic shift appears unsyntactical and infelicitous?
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisor's writing!
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#5: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-10-02T06:03:22Z (about 2 years ago)

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**How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**1. How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
2. This semantic shift appears syntactically infelicitous!
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'advise') Advisee.
could not felicitously mean
>Advisor _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisee.
The correct syntax is
>Advisee _rǣda_ (in the sense of 'read') Advisor's writing!
To wit, if an advisor counsels an advisee in writing, then the advisor doesn't need to read. It is the advisee who shall read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#4: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-09-26T23:48:04Z (about 2 years ago)

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How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?
Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

**How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?**
Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#3: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-09-26T23:45:28Z (about 2 years ago)

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How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?
Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing!
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
~~[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🡱.~~
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
~~[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱/~~
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
~~[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡹. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.~~
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

How did ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain?
Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing!
>### read [OE]
>In most western European languages, the word for ‘read’ goes back ultimately to a source which meant literally ‘gather, pick up’: French _lire_, for instance, which comes from Latin _legere_ (source of English _legible_ and
_collect_), and German _lesen_. English _read_, however, is an exception. Its underlying meaning is ‘advise, consider’ (it is related to German _raten_ ‘advise’, and a memory of this original sense lives on in the archaic _rede_ ‘advise’, which is essentially the same word as _read_, and also in _unready_ ‘ill-advised’, the epithet applied to the
Anglo-Saxon king Ethelred II), and the sense ‘read’ developed via ‘interpret’ (preserved in the related _riddle_).
_Word Origins_ (2005 2e) by John Ayto, p 414 Right column. 🡹
>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.
[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🢁.
>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).
[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱.
>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).
[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡩. [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read) 🡻.
![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

#2: Post edited by

PSTH‭ · 2022-09-26T10:02:03Z (about 2 years ago)

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~~What semantic notions underlie 'to advise, counsel, guess' (rǣda) 🡺 'peruse' ('read')?~~

What semantic notions underlie 'to advise, counsel, guess' (rǣda) 🡺 'peruse' (read)?

#1: Initial revision by

PSTH‭ · 2022-09-26T10:01:42Z (about 2 years ago)

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What semantic notions underlie 'to advise, counsel, guess' (rǣda)  🡺  'peruse' ('read')?

How did  ‘advise, consult, guess’ semantically shift 🢂 [to signify ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/read#Etymology_1)? How do they semantically appertain? 

Imagine we are in Old English times, where illiteracy was the norm. Advice was probably oral, not written. But even if an advisor had advised an advisee in writing, then the advisor didn't need to read. It was the advisee who must read the advisor's writing! 

>But English did not follow the trend, and went its own route instead. The English word “read” comes from the Old English _rǣda_, which meant to advise, counsel, or guess. While these were the principal meanings of the word, the word also picked up several other meanings — such as to read, explain, or learn by reading. In modern English, the original meaning is no longer attached to the word. But in the other Germanic languages, the corresponding word has kept the earlier meanings. In modern Dutch, the word _raden_ means to guess, advise, or counsel. In modern German, the word _raten_ means to advise or guess. And in Swedish, the word _råda_ means to advise, prevail, or counsel.

[R. Philip Bouchard, _Word Connections: Read & Write_, April 18 2017.](https://medium.com/the-philipendium/word-connections-read-write-7df53111eb7d) 🡱. 

>The sense-transference to "interpret and understand the meaning of written symbols" is said to be unique to English and (perhaps under Old English influence) Old Norse _raða_. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (such as French _lire_, from Latin _legere_).

[Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=read) 🡱/

>— As is evident from the number of glosses, the Old and Middle English verbs covered a remarkably broad range of meanings. Those senses not having to do with the act of reading are now mostly represented by the spelling _rede_ in Modern English (see [rede](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rede#etymology)). Though the sense "interpret" is evident in Old Norse, adaptation of this verb to refer to visual processing of written language is peculiar to Old English (and hence to Modern English); to express this idea other Germanic languages, excepting Gothic, have adapted, either by inheritance or loan, outcomes of the verb _\*lesan-_ "to gather, select," presumably as a calque on Latin _legere_ (see [legend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend#etymology)).


[Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/read) 🡹.  [Etymologeek](https://etymologeek.com/eng/read)  🡻.

![Image alt text](https://languages.codidact.com/uploads/qZmYUZLa3PUVQZgzW546hYUJ)

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