“Shat” (as a past tense of shit) has been in the OED since at least the second edition, with a citation dating from 1980. “Thunk” (as a past tense of think) is likewise there, with the earliest use dated to 1876.
I should hope so. The word has been around since at least 1872, according to the OED. There’s a Latin cognate, burgulare, which has been attested as far back as 1354.
Likewise, “snuck” has been in use since at least 1887.
Interesting. I stand corrected. Sorry Jimmy.
Likewise, nicknames like Nan and Ned were backformed from “mine Anne” (my Nan) and “mine Ed” (my Ned).
Did “Nancy” then derive from “Nan”?
More curious about that, since “Nan” as a name (save as a Grandmother nickname–Nana, Nanny, Nan) is pretty much dead here in the US.
I would doubt that, personally, since “Ted” is also a nickname for Ed, and there’s also “Bob” for “Rob”, “Bill” for “Will”, and “Peg” for “Meg”. Adding or changing a random consonant at the beginning of a name seems to be a pretty standard way of forming English nicknames.
Yes, or from Anne. IOW, the “sy” or “cy” was added as a diminuitive to form the nickname: Nancy, Patsy, Betsy. But I don’t know if it went:
Anne => Ann-sy => Mine Ann-sy => Nancy, or
Anne => Mine Anne => Nan => Nancy
I suspect the latter since “Ann-sy” is not and AFAIK never was a widely used nickname for Anne.
“Normalcy” dates from 1852. Warren G. Harding popularized it in the 20s and was castigated for it, but it was in the dictionary even then.
“Yankee” was a derogatory term for Americans that became a mark of honor.
That was originally on a radio program. Hoyle later said he just wanted to use a visual description and denied it was a put-down.
You certainly can doubt it if you like, since at this point there’s no way to prove it. But metanalysis is an accepted explanation for names like “Nan,” “Ned,” and “Nell” – as well as the old English (as opposed to “Old English”) nickname “Nunks” for an uncle. These nickname formations also appear to be supported by other, non-name examples of metanalysis such as “nother” (as in “whole nother story” from “another”) as well as apron, orange, and auger.
That’s really cool stuff, thanks!
“Bazooka” was first a cobbled-together musical instrument invented by US comedian Bob Burns. When the rocket launcher came around, somebody joked that it looked liked Burns’s Bazooka. The name stuck.
“Sammich” isn’t so much a real example, as one that I hope to become true someday.
“Okay” and “truthiness” are real examples, though: nonce words that became “real” words that are used in all seriousness today.
Is it really incorrect? It has a clear and nuanced meaning; it describes it well; everyone understands it. (Just like “grok”, only more widespread.) Which “correct” word do you prefer, that means exactly the same thing?
“Normality”, presumably, though I agree that there’s nothing wrong with “normalcy”.
:eek: ignorance fought, I guess. I always thought they were made up. I have even used “shitten”, which now I am guessing is also legit.
Yep. Chaucer used it in 1386. The OED also has examples from Jonson in 1616 and Swift in 1738, plus some from modern times.
One I see often is Alright even though it should be All right as I understand. Another that is in common use that makes my ears twitch is Irregardless and it can now be found in the dictionary. Oh, how about Liberry.
Last, I occasionally hear “I have to go home and unthaw something for dinner.”
I usually hear that as “dethaw” which sorta annoys the crap outta me. No, you might wanna defrost it, or thaw it, but dethawing it would make for very unappetizing and inedible pork chops.
Just want to nip this in the bud before it turns into a hijack–I appreciate what you two are trying to do, but prescriptivist gripes are really not what I’m going for with this OP, and I’ve noted my intense dislike of prescriptivism in other threads.
Except of course that the euphemism for bear was ‘bear’ (the original indo-european word being so sacred it got lost in many languages) and there being several competing theories for the meaning of the name Beowulf.