Someone told me that the word news was an acronym meaning NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST. I can’t believe it. Somebody give me the SD on this
That’d be Nesw
Anyway, I’d imagine that “news” is called “news” as in “new information”
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
well in my best estimation Nesw isn’t pronounceable,
Where does the “S” come in in in “new information”
Considering that in our sister language, Dutch, the word for news is nieuws (which is pretty cleary cognate with “news”) and that the four cardinal points of the compass in Dutch are Noorden, Oosten, Westen, and Zuiden, giving nowz, I am pretty sure we can ignore the possibility of an acronym in this case.
Tom~
plural of “new”
(this is really just a password test)
quote:
Where does the “S” come in in in “new information”
plural of “new”
Umm, how do you come up with that there isn’t a “S” in “new infornmation”
Considering that in our sister language, Dutch, the word for news is nieuws (which is pretty cleary cognate with “news”) and that the four cardinal points of the compass in Dutch are Noorden, Oosten, Westen, and Zuiden, giving nowz, I am pretty sure we can ignore the possibility of an acronym in this case.
Well can i mention that in Spanish that “HOLA” means hello. Different languages have different spellings for ther same words. DUH
Let’s see, what else can we tell siva that (s)he won’t be able to believe. . .and will it be a GQ? Siva doesn’t even seem to believe there’s no ‘S’ in information or in “infornmation” either. But I’ll go along with ‘news’ having come from ‘new happenings’, admitting that the Dutch could actually have stolen their word from the English word and then changed it a mite (even though tomndebb apparently doesn’t consider such happenings).
Actually, ‘news’ is an acronym of Nothing Eecept What Sells. I got this straight from MSNBC. 
Ray (They can’t sue me, with that smiley there, can they? But they’re beginning to suck really bad.)
. . .except that’s Except, of course.
OK, siva, since you didn’t like my cognate explanation (at least NanoByte came up with a logical reason to doubt it, suggesting that the Dutch borrowed from the English), I checked the OED. The original spelling of the word to mean “tidings” was newis in 1423. The word was then spelled newis, newys, and newes for a couple hundred years until someone decided to spell it as news in 1685. Unless you can point to a separate compass point that was alternately spelled beginning I, Y, and E that would have been important enough to be used in an acronym for “tidings”, the connection between tidings and the points of the compass remain unlikely.
Tom~
Dictionary of Word Origins, John Ayto, from the entry for new:
“The use of the plural noun news for ‘information’ dates from the 15th century.” That pretty much rules out any acronym explanation.
Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99.
Thunder’s just a noise, boys; lightning does the work. --C. Brock
I don’t know how old you are, siva, but an old news program I used to watch would show the points of the compass at the beginning of the show, and pull down the letters to form the word “NEWS”. Maybe that’s where you got the idea.
Peace,
mangeorge
I only know two things;
I know what I need to know
And
I know what I want to know
Mangeorge, 2000
news (nooz, nyooz) [[ Middle English newes, “novelties”, after Old French noveles or Middle Latin nova, plural of novum, “what is new” ]] (Webster’s)
News is a high-pressure business. North-East-South-West describes a clockwise “spin” on things, meaning that the term was coined in the northern hemisphere.
This sig not Y2K compliant. Happy 1900.
I learned a long time ago that a dictionary can be a great assistance:
news "nuz, "nyuz\ noun plural but singular in construction often attrib (15c)
1 a : a report of recent events
b : previously unknown information <I’ve got news for you>
2 a : material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast
b : matter that is newsworthy
3 : newscast
news•less -les\ adjective
1new "nu, chiefly Brit "nyu, in place names usu (’)nu or ne or (’)ni\ adjective [ME, fr. OE niwe; akin to OHG niuwi new, L novus, Gk neos] (bef. 12c)
1 : having existed or having been made but a short time : recent, modern
2 a (1) : having been seen, used, or known for a short time : novel <rice was a new crop for the area>
(2) : unfamiliar <visit new places>
b : being other than the former or old <a steady flow of new money>
3 : having been in a relationship or condition but a short time <new to the job>
4 a : beginning as the resumption or repetition of a previous act or thing <a new day> <the new edition>
b : made or become fresh <awoke a new person>
5 : different from one of the same category that has existed previously <new realism>
6 : of dissimilar origin and usu. of superior quality <introducing new blood>
7 cap : modern 3; esp : having been in use after medieval times
new•ish "nu-ish, "nyu-\ adjective
new•ness noun
Synonyms
new, novel, original, fresh mean having recently come into existence or use. new may apply to what is freshly made and unused <new brick> or has not been known before <new designs> or not experienced before <starts the new job>. novel applies to what is not only new but strange or unprecedented <a novel approach to the problem>. original applies to what is the first of its kind to exist <a man without one original idea>. fresh applies to what has not lost its qualities of newness such as liveliness, energy, brightness <fresh towels> <a fresh start>.
So, ‘new’ is a little bit older.
Just testing my new password. (Let’s see if my post goes through this time!)