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Posts by PSTH‭

89 posts
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Q&A How does taking, buying, procuring (emō) semantically appertain to destruction, annihilation (perimō)?

As you can read below, emō meant to take, buy, gain, procure. But perimō meant to destroy and annihilate. Plainly, their meanings differ! So why was perimō formed from emō and compounded with per-?...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A How did 'equity' semantically shift to mean 'Assets — Liabilities'?

I ask about Equity = Assets — Liabilities here, not its meaning as stock. See Personal Finance For Canadians For Dummies (2018), p 468. equity: In the real-estate world, this term refers to the...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

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Q&A Is the etymology of 'amphigory' semantically related to the English idiom 'go round in circles'?

Any semantic relationship between amphigory amphigory (n.) "burlesque nonsense writing or verse," 1809, from French amphigouri (18c.), which is of unknown origin, perhaps itself a nonsense word...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology Greek
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Q&A What semantic notions underlie "gasket" with "little gird, maidservant"?

I see that Etymonline warns of gasket's uncertain origin, but I still pine to understand this possible etymology. I know little about sailing, and Wikipedia annunciates: gaskets are lengths of r...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology
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Q&A How can a problem or puzzle be analogized as a knot?

An ESL student was asking about the quotation below at my school, but I don't know how to expound or simplify to her that "A problem or puzzle can be thought of as a knot." Any ideas? She knows wha...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jordan‭

Question semantics
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Q&A How does backwardation semantically relate to "backward"?

What semantic notions underlie any sense of 'backwardness' (like "backward" or "backwards"), with the meaning of 'backwardation' below? Etymonline overlooked this term. OED is too brusque and doesn...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 4y ago by tommi‭

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Q&A How did 'less than' semantically shift to mean 'if not'?

What semantic notions underlie less than and IF NOT? How did less than semantically shift to mean IF NOT in at least these 5 languages? Just edit this post if you pine to add other languages with t...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 5mo ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Question etymology
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Q&A How did 'unless' evolve to mean 'if not'?

[Etymonline:] mid-15c., earlier onlesse, from on lesse (than) "on a less condition (than); see less. The first syllable originally on, but the negative connotation and the lack of stress changed ...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology
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Q&A How did 'security' semantically shift to signify 'tradable financial asset'?

What semantic notions underlie the Latinate meanings of 'security' (quoting Etymonline first) mid-15c., "condition of being secure," from Latin securitas, from securus "free from care" (see secu...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by dsr‭

Question etymology finance
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Q&A How did "re" + "join" semantically compound to mean "riposte"?

In French, « joindre » means "to join". What semantic notions underlie « joindre » with the 2020 English "rejoin", which means to riposte? How did rejoindre shift to signify the 2020 English "rej...

0 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 3y ago by PSTH‭

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Q&A Why does "counter" mean the area of a letter entirely, or partially, enclosed by a letter form or a symbol?

Etymonline's entries for the homonyms "counter" don't semantically appertain to its meaning in typography. How does "counter" in typography relate to the common lay English 2021 meanings of "co...

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

Question etymology English
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Q&A How does saeculum ( “generation” or “lifetime") semantically relate to PIE root *se- "to sow"?

Why did historical linguists impute saeculum to PIE *se-? What semantic notions underlie them? All boldenings are mine. secular (adj) c. 1300, "living in the world, not belonging to a religious...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A How does propitius (“favorable, well-disposed") semantically relate to PIE root *per- (1) "forward")?

Why did historical linguists impute propitius to PIE *per-1? What semantic notions underlie them? All boldenings are mine. propitiation (n.) late 14c., propiciacioun, "atonement, expiation," fr...

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

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Q&A How's inVEST semantically related to VEST? How did the "idea of dressing your capital up in different clothes" arise?

Isn't "the idea of dressing one’s capital up in different clothes by putting it into a particular business, stock, etc" batty? This semantic relationship would never cross the mind of an amateur re...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

Question etymology
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Q&A How does "happening" appertain to "(be)falling"?

u/yutani333 answered this at https://old.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/r5gp90/why_do_so_many_languages_express_happening_as/hmspxm6/. The central idea of the metaphor of "fall" > "happen"...

posted 3y ago by PSTH‭

Answer
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Q&A How did 'equity' semantically shift to signify 'Assets — Liabilities'?

Here I ask merely ask about Equity = Assets — Liabilities here, not its meaning as stock. 1. Why was 'equity' was adopted to describe this difference? equity: In the real-estate world, this ter...

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

Question etymology
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Q&A What spoken human languages in 2021 don't salute with words related to health or peace?

What are the exceptions to the fact that most Asian, Middle Eastern and European languages greet with words anent health or peace? I know that "salutation" itself meant "health". Why don'...

0 answers  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭

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Q&A How can the Latin prefix 'in-' possibly befit imputare?

I quote Etymonline on impute (v.): early 15c., from Old French imputer, emputer (14c.) and directly from Latin imputare "to reckon, make account of, charge, ascribe," from assimilated form of ...

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

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A How did 'in-' + 'putare' compound to mean 'to attribute, credit to'?

I quote Etymonline on impute (v.): early 15c., from Old French imputer, emputer (14c.) and directly from Latin imputare "to reckon, make account of, charge, ascribe," from assimilated form of ...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A Why “chose” in action? Why not “right/droit” in action?

Chose (in action) this can be translated as ‘thing in action’. It is an intangible right which is essentially a right to sue. JC Smith's The Law of Contract 2021 3 ed, p 476. Law French us...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 3y ago by PSTH‭

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Q&A How did 'solicit' semantically shift to signify ‘manage affairs’?

I don't understand the semantic shift from sollicitāre ‘disturb, agitate’ to the meaning of "manage affairs", probably because "disturb, agitate" pejoratively connotes discontentment and upheaval, ...

1 answer  ·  posted 3y ago by PSTH‭  ·  last activity 3y ago by Jirka Hanika‭

Question etymology
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Q&A How did 'folding back' semantically shift to mean 'reply'?

To wit, how does the notion of "folding back" semantically appertain to "respond"? reply [14] Etymologically, reply means ‘fold back’. It comes ultimately from Latin replicāre ‘fold back, unf...

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

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A How's “drag” (tractāre) semantically related to “handle, deal with, discuss”?

How exactly did tractāre branch out "metaphorically to ‘handle, deal with, discuss’"? How does "dragging" semantically appertain to ‘handle, deal with, discuss’? Dragging connotes phy...

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

Question etymology Latin
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Q&A How can a prepositional phrase shift to become a verb?

I don't know why, but the embolded semantic shift for agree (v.) below unsettles me. a gré is a prepositional phrase, correct? If so, how can a prepositional phrase transmogrify into a ve...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭

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Q&A How did « re » + « partir » compound to 🡲 "repartee", which means "rejoinder"?

In French, « partir » means "to (de)part". What semantic notions underlie « re » + « partir » 🡺 with the 2020 AD English meaning of repartee (i.e. riposting))? (de)parting and replying don't see...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by PSTH‭  ·  edited 2y ago by PSTH‭