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user 3036
Questions about the history and trends of the English language.
8
votes
Accepted
Origin of term "doublespeak"
The Oxford English Dictionary doesn't have doublespeak as a separate entry; I can only make an educated guess. The word double-talk already existed in 1938, according to the OED, and was originally Am …
2
votes
Accepted
"As if" & "As would be the case if"; Also, "As though"
In the history of the language, it has come to be treated as if it were, and its use and meaning seem to have adapted to this hypothesis, regardless of whether it is true. …
4
votes
Accepted
nebula and nebulous - a question of origin
These words come from Latin nebula. Both nebula and nebulosus ("nebulous") existed in classical Latin. In the Middle Ages, anyone who could write was likely to know Latin.
That is why writers freely …
7
votes
Accepted
What do references like "Docc Rom." and similar mean?
In 1933, Vicenzo Spampanato published many documents on the life of Bruno under the title Documenti della vita di Giordano Bruno.
He divided these documents into the Documenti Veneti and the Document …
13
votes
What are the historical processes of preposition coining in English?
In Ancient Greek, it is assumed that most, if not all, prepositions were once adverbs. That is why most prepositions can still be used as adverbs starting a sentence in Ancient Greek, as in "upon [tha …
14
votes
Were contractions less common in olden days?
[Edited]
What is contraction?
In all languages I know, there is a general tendency to contract existing words in speech. I will comment on contraction in writing later.
The cause of contraction in …
12
votes
Accepted
A ligature "og"
That is indeed a ligature and so called in palaeography. It is completely normal in many Mediaeval and Early-Modern scripts. The ligature æ is of the same type. From the Wikipedia article on ligature: …
14
votes
Is the etymology of "salary" a myth?
In classical Latin, the word salarium already meant "salary":
salarium proconsulari solitum offerri ... Agricolae non dedit: "the salary commonly offered a proconsul [the governor of a province or …
3
votes
Why is a woman's purse called a "pocketbook"?
All I know is this, which is not very much:
1610s, originally a small book meant to be carried in one’s pocket,
from pocket + book. Meaning “a
booklike leather folder for papers,
bills, etc. …
6
votes
Accepted
Good and bad - suppletive adjectives
As far as I know, irregularity correlates to frequency of use: as a paradigm ( / set of related words) is more commonly used, it will be less regular on average. Suppletion is an (extreme) type of irr …