# Important news **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731 "2000-02-26T04:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![siva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@siva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siva)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/1 "2000-02-26T04:33:00Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/2 "2000-02-26T04:38:00Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![siva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@siva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siva)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/3 "2000-02-26T04:43:00Z")
well in my best estimation Nesw isn’t pronounceable, Where does the “S” come in in in “new information” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/4 "2000-02-26T05:08:00Z")
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 **N** oorden, **O** osten, **W** esten, and **Z** uiden, giving _nowz_, I am pretty sure we can ignore the possibility of an acronym in this case. * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![pmh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@pmh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmh)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/5 "2000-02-26T05:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Where does the “S” come in in in “new information” plural of “new” (this is really just a password test) ---
**Author:** ![siva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7c8e57/32.png) [@siva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/siva)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/6 "2000-02-26T05:20:00Z")
## 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 ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/7 "2000-02-26T06:42:00Z")
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 **N** othing **E** ecept **W** hat **S** ells. 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.) ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/8 "2000-02-26T06:44:00Z")
. . .except that’s **E** xcept, of course. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/9 "2000-02-26T07:07:00Z")
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~ ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/10 "2000-02-26T07:11:00Z")
_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 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/11 "2000-02-26T07:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by siva: > **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** 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 ---
**Author:** ![tbea925](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@tbea925](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbea925)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/12 "2000-02-26T13:35:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/13 "2000-02-26T16:21:00Z")
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 \ 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 \ (2) : unfamiliar \ b : being other than the former or old \ 3 : having been in a relationship or condition but a short time \ 4 a : beginning as the resumption or repetition of a previous act or thing \ \ b : made or become fresh \ 5 : different from one of the same category that has existed previously \ 6 : of dissimilar origin and usu. of superior quality \ 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 \ or has not been known before \ or not experienced before \. novel applies to what is not only new but strange or unprecedented \. original applies to what is the first of its kind to exist \. fresh applies to what has not lost its qualities of newness such as liveliness, energy, brightness \ \. So, ‘new’ is a little bit older. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e79b87/32.png) [@Edward\_J\_Cunningham\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_J_Cunningham_1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2000, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/important-news/7731/14 "2000-02-26T16:25:00Z")
Just testing my new password. (Let’s see if my post goes through **this** time!)