Activity for dsr‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Answer	—	A: What semantic notions underlie fūrunculus (Latin for 'petty thief') 🡺 furuncle? A pimple is a small theft of beauty. (more)	—	over 1 year ago
Answer	—	A: Demise — How did "dismiss, put away" semantically shift to mean 🡲 a transfer of property, or the grant of a lease? Remember that lawyers love to put their own stamp on language, and hold on to fanciful usages while pretending they are the clearest, most common parlance. https://dictionary.thelaw.com/demise/ is quite useful here, but assumes a crucial element: in the British monarchy, the Crown is the original ... (more)	—	almost 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: English dialects and he/she versus it He/she may be used to refer to an object. The accepted practice in English is for boats and ships to be considered female; this is unusual enough to be remarked upon by non-sailors. All other uses that I am aware of are casual anthropomorphisms rather than formal. A vehicle is often referred to as... (more)	—	almost 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: How did 'ad-' + 'rogare' compound to mean 'to make great claims about oneself'? It would take a literature search to prove it, but I think that the claimed etymology is not precisely correct for English. It is often the case for English that a word is adopted and then a mutation of it happens independently of mutations in the original language. As an alternative source for ar... (more)	—	about 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: How did 'security' semantically shift to signify 'tradable financial asset'? Let's look at the described phenomena, as they changed over the years. First we have ownership: the idea that a particular person has a right to determine what is done and not done with a physical object. An owner worries over their property: is this carved stick still with me? They care about it.... (more)	—	about 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: Modern English words originating in Norman If you rephrase this question to ask about "the influence of Norman French on English", you will discover a myriad of searchable sources and references, and the book Contact: The Interaction of Closely Related Linguistic Varieties and the History of English (2016 Edinburgh University Press). The l... (more)	—	over 2 years ago
Answer	—	A: How's inVEST semantically related to VEST? How did the "idea of dressing your capital up in different clothes" arise? Let's disregard vestments (clothing) for a moment and consider hats. In many cultures, specific hats are associated with different social roles. Sometimes these are strictly regulated by sumptuary laws, and sometimes they are on a spectrum between mandatory and fashionable. E.g. a firefighter's helme... (more)	—	over 2 years ago