<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Greetings You Who Came First,</div><div><br></div>Thought you might enjoy this post. BTW, if you're interested in a daily dose of word lore, I recommend both Wordsmith (<a href="http://wordsmith.org">wordsmith.org</a>) and Podictionary (<a href="http://podictionary.com">podictionary.com</a>).<div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Robyn<br><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">Wordsmith <<a href="mailto:wsmith@wordsmith.org">wsmith@wordsmith.org</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Date: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">April 26, 2010 1:25:02 AM EDT<br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>To: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">Robyn Fizz <<a href="mailto:fizz@mit.edu">fizz@mit.edu</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><b>A.Word.A.Day--cathect</b><br></span></div><br><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border:1px solid; border-color:#9F9F9F"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="middle"><b><font face="verdana,arial,sans-serif"> <a href="http://Wordsmith.org">Wordsmith.org</a></font></b></td><td align="right"><font face="verdana,arial,sans-serif">The Magic of Words </font></td></tr></tbody></table><br>
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<div style="color:#AAAAAA; text-align:right; font-size:11px;">Apr 26, 2010</div>
<b>This week's theme</b><br>
Back-formations
<br><br>
<b>This week's words</b><br>
<a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/cathect.html">cathect</a><br>
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<div style="font-size:19px;">A.Word.A.Day</div>
with Anu Garg<br><br>
Which came first, <i>editor</i> or <i>edit</i>? This may sound like a chicken-and-egg
question, but it's not. It's easy to assume that the word <i>editor</i> was formed
from the verb <i>edit</i>. In reality, the word <i>editor</i> came first (from Latin edere:
to give out). Then we formed the verb <i>edit</i> from it. Words such as <i>babysit,
vaccinate, donate</i>, all were derived from their noun forms, not vice versa.<p>
This re-interpretation of a word to coin a new word is called back-formation:
devising a word from what appears to be a derivative word.</p><p>
This re-analysis of words can be in error or in humor, done on purpose. About
110 years ago British troops were released after a long siege in a town
called Mafeking in South Africa. It sparked wild celebrations in Britain. The
town name Mafeking was jocularly treated as a gerund and a verb form was
coined: to <a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/maffick.html">maffick</a> (to celebrate).</p><p>
The word we now know as <i>cherry</i> was originally cherise (in French it's still
called cerise today), but as that seemed to be plural, people erroneously
spoke of a cherry when referring to a single fruit.</p><p>
In the beginning back-formations are usually frowned upon, for example, the
verb <i>enthuse</i> (a back-formation from enthusiasm) is not yet well accepted.
Scores of other back-formations are now full-fledged members of the English
language: greed (from greedy), injure (from injury), beg (from beggar).</p><p>
The verb to back-form itself is a back-formation. We'll look at five more
this week.
</p><div style="text-align:center; font-size: 8pt; color:#777777">
Discuss this week's words and much more on our bulletin board:
<a href="http://wordsmith.org/board/">Wordsmith Talk</a>
</div>
<h3>
cathect
</h3><div>
<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="font-family:Verdana; color:#AAAAAA; font-weight:bold; font-size:13px;">PRONUNCIATION:</div>
(kuh-THEKT)
<a href="http://wordsmith.org/words/cathect.mp3"><img src="http://wordsmith.org/words/images/sound-icon.png" align="middle" width="32" height="24" border="0" alt=""></a><div>
<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div style="font-family:Verdana; color:#AAAAAA; font-weight:bold; font-size:13px;">MEANING:</div>
<i>verb tr.</i>:
To invest mental or emotional energy in an idea, object, or person.
<br><br>
<div style="font-family:Verdana; color:#AAAAAA; font-weight:bold; font-size:13px;">ETYMOLOGY:</div>
Back-formation from Greek kathexis (the investment of emotional energy in
something). Ultimately from the Indo-European root segh- (to hold) that is
also the source of words such as victory (to hold in a battle), hectic,
scheme, and scholar.
<br><br>
<div style="font-family:Verdana; color:#AAAAAA; font-weight:bold; font-size:13px;">USAGE:</div>
"Mortimer divorced Jane Goodall's mother, Vanne, in 1950, consigning Jane
to the fate of so many children who cathect with the animal kingdom to
compensate for missing parents."<br>
Judith Lewis; Observing the Observer: Jane Goodall, The Woman Who Redefined
Man; Los Angeles Times; Nov 19, 2006.
<br><br>
Explore "<a href="http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=cathect">cathect</a>" in the Visual Thesaurus.
<br><br>
<div style="font-family:Verdana; color:#AAAAAA; font-weight:bold; font-size:13px;">A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:</div>
When others asked the truth of me, I was convinced it was not the truth they wanted, but an illusion they could bear to live with. -Anais Nin, writer (1903-1977)
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "><div><div><div><div><div>Robyn Fizz<br>News Coordinator<br>MIT Information Services and Technology (IS&T)</div><div>N42-290B</div><div><a href="http://ist.mit.edu/news">ist.mit.edu/news</a></div><div>@MIT_ISTnews<br><br>Phone: 617 253-0540<br>Fax: 617 258-6875</div><div><br></div><div>Important! Do not give out your passwords!</div><div>IS&T will *never* ask for passwords or other personal information via email.</div></div><div><br></div></div><br></div><br></div><br></span></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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