Activity for PSTH
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How did "dispose" semantically shift from meaning "put apart" 🡺 to "transfer title to property"? What semantic notions underlie "put apart" 🡺 "a transfer of title to property"? This semantic shift addles me. Why? Because "put apart" feels casual and laid-back! In modern English, "put apart" refers to personal tangible goods. But "a transfer of title to property" is legalistic! No native ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286737 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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Demise — How did "dismiss, put away" semantically shift to mean 🡲 a transfer of property, or the grant of a lease? What semantic notions underlie "dismiss, put away" (desmetre) 🢂 with transferring property or granting a lease (demise)? This semantic shift befuddles me, because — 1. Humans "dismiss, put away" merely physical objects that they dislike. "dismiss, put away" has a negative connotation. 2. "d... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286736 |
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| Edit | Post #286736 |
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| Edit | Post #286736 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How did mittō (to send) semantically shift 🢂 in Vulgar Latin 🡺 to mean "put"? Wiktionary allegates that, for the Latin mittō (“to send”), >The semantic shift from "send" to "put" probably occurred in Vulgar Latin. What semantic notions underlie "send" and "put"? I can't brainstorm any relationship between the two, even after reading this word map or narrative. (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Comment | Post #286735 |
Before I attempt an answer, have you read
- [When **is** a gerund supposed to be preceded by a possessive adjective/determiner?](https://english.stackexchange.com/q/2625)
- [When **must** a gerund be preceded by a possessive pronoun **as opposed to an accusative one?**](https://english.... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #279047 |
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— | over 2 years ago |
| Comment | Post #279490 |
Sorry for the late reply. 1. You asked "Just to be sure about your question: how it shifted to mean "riposte" as in fencing, or how it shifted to mean "riposte" as in a verbal exchange?" I hanker to know about both shifts please.
2. "*partir* - distribute (blows)." Can you please expound how *part... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #283613 |
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| Edit | Post #286127 |
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| Edit | Post #286127 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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Why did linguists impute Proto-Italic *moini-, *moinos- "duty, obligation, task" 🡺 to PIE root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move"? What semantic notions underlie Proto-Italic moini-, moinos- "duty, obligation, task," 🢂 with PIE root mei- (1) "to change, go, move"? How do they semantically appertain each other? I quote from merely one para. on "municipal (adj.)" on Etymonline. >The first element is from munus (plural muni... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286063 |
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| Edit | Post #286119 |
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| Edit | Post #286119 |
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| Edit | Post #286119 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How did prae + scribere semantically shift from meaning "write before" ⟶ "a title or right acquired through long use or uninterrupted possession"? I grok that prae- + scribere ⟶ praescribere literally meant write before. But what semantic notions underlie write before with `a title or right acquired through long use or uninterrupted possession`? These notions contradict each other — because if you possessed writing before acquiring a title o... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286064 |
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— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286064 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How does 'contango' semantically appertain to (1) 'continue'? (2) Or 'contain' as in Spanish 'contengo'? I know that in Spanish, contengo is the first person singular conjugation of contener "to contain". I surmise that English transcribed the Spanish /e/ into an "a". Etymonline > 1853, "charge made or percentage received by a broker or seller for deferring settlement of a stock sale," a stockbrok... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286063 |
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| Edit | Post #286063 |
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| Edit | Post #286063 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How did 'in' + 'as' + 'much' (⟶ inasmuch) compound to mean "in an equal or like degree"? I quote the OED 's etymology for the adverb inasmuch. >originally 3 words in as much (in northern Middle English in als mikel), subsequently sometimes written as 2 words, in asmuch, and now (especially since 17th cent.) as one. > >I. In phrase inasmuch AS. >[=] In so far as, [...], in proporti... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286062 |
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| Edit | Post #286062 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How did (the cross-linguistic univerbation) 'nothing/not/none/no + less' semantically shift to mean 'despite'? Several West European languages, most spoken in 2022, feature cognate adverbs with the meaning of ''nevertheless' by univerbating "nothing/not/none/no" +"less". 1. What semantic notions underlie their original literal ("nothing/never the less") and modern subsequent (despite something that you ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286056 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How did 'ad-' + 'rogare' compound to mean 'to make great claims about oneself'? 1. What does the prefix ad- semantically mean here? 2. How did the compounding of ad- + rogare yield 'to make great claims about oneself' and "to claim for oneself, assume"? 3. What semantic notions underlie ad- + rogare with 'to make great claims about oneself'? Doubtless, the act of asking ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
| Edit | Post #286040 | Initial revision | — | over 2 years ago |
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How can fulsome constitute "a case of ironic understatement"? Pretend that you're Devil's Advocate. 1. How can you possibly contend that fulsome is "a case of ironic understatement"? 2. What's ironic? 3. What's fulsome understating? "fulsome" feels redundant for 2 reasons. 4. If something's FULL (e.g. a cup of water), then it's physically imposs... (more) |
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| Edit | Post #284868 |
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— | almost 3 years ago |
| Comment | Post #284914 |
Definitely! Thanks for this sterling answer. Can I ask if you've studied linguistics, and to what degree? I don't think a layperson would've thought of this metaphor. Shame that I can't react to answers here! (more) |
— | almost 3 years ago |
| Edit | Post #284868 |
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— | almost 3 years ago |
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