The endpoint of my “au-” excursion is a word that can mean anything and it can mean nothing, which sounds like something Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau might say.
The word is “aught,” which can be “anything whatever” (as in “for aught I know”) or “a zero.”
The zero connection came from the faulty separation of “a naught” into “an aught.” “Naught” is a spelling variation of the first zero in this family, “nought.”
By the way, the adjective “naughty,” also part of this family, used to mean “wicked; bad; evil.” Then it became not behaving properly, especially as applied to children.
The...
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The endpoint of my “au-” excursion is a word that can mean anything and it can mean nothing, which sounds like something Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau might say.
The word is “aught,” which can be “anything whatever” (as in “for aught I know”) or “a zero.”
The zero connection came from the faulty separation of “a naught” into “an aught.” “Naught” is a spelling variation of the first zero in this family, “nought.”
By the way, the adjective “naughty,” also part of this family, used to mean “wicked; bad; evil.” Then it became not behaving properly, especially as applied to children.
The...
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Believe it or not, we’re on the last leg of our journey around the world of “au-.” The inhabitants of this stretch include:
The “auk,” a diving shorebird of the northern seas and a friend of crossword puzzle fans everywhere. Its name was inspired by the noise it makes.
An “aunt.” This word was derived from the Middle English and Old French “aunte,” which came from the Latin “amita” for paternal aunt. And that was a form of “amma,” baby talk for “mother.”
By the way, the preferred American pronunciation is the same as the name of the bug, “ant.”...
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Believe it or not, we’re on the last leg of our journey around the world of “au-.” The inhabitants of this stretch include:
The “auk,” a diving shorebird of the northern seas and a friend of crossword puzzle fans everywhere. Its name was inspired by the noise it makes.
An “aunt.” This word was derived from the Middle English and Old French “aunte,” which came from the Latin “amita” for paternal aunt. And that was a form of “amma,” baby talk for “mother.”
By the way, the preferred American pronunciation is the same as the name of the bug, “ant.”...
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Three other “au-” words got their start with the Latin verb “augere” — “to increase.”
The most obvious is “augment,” which also means to increase, enlarge, strengthen.
Less obvious are “authority” and “auction.” The former traveled the same route as “author,” which I wrote about previously. “Authority” is the power or right to be in charge, and also can be a knowledgeable and reliable source for information.
For “auction,” its immediate ancestor was the Latin “auctio,” meaning “an increasing” and specifically “sale by increase of bids” — which is pretty much what an auction is.
A word that might seem...
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Three other “au-” words got their start with the Latin verb “augere” — “to increase.”
The most obvious is “augment,” which also means to increase, enlarge, strengthen.
Less obvious are “authority” and “auction.” The former traveled the same route as “author,” which I wrote about previously. “Authority” is the power or right to be in charge, and also can be a knowledgeable and reliable source for information.
For “auction,” its immediate ancestor was the Latin “auctio,” meaning “an increasing” and specifically “sale by increase of bids” — which is pretty much what an auction is.
A word that might seem...
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Originally, an “author” was “a person who makes or originates something; creator.” The creation didn’t have to be a written one.
The word traces back to the Latin “auctor,” which also meant “enlarger.” That was rooted in the verb “augere” — “to increase.”
Webster’s also includes “author” as a verb for “to be an author of.” This conversion of a noun into a verb is a process that almost always encounters resistance among the guardians of style. The Associated Press Stylebook, for example, prohibits the use of “author” as a verb.
“Garner’s Modern American Usage” is more reasonable, acknowledging that...
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Originally, an “author” was “a person who makes or originates something; creator.” The creation didn’t have to be a written one.
The word traces back to the Latin “auctor,” which also meant “enlarger.” That was rooted in the verb “augere” — “to increase.”
Webster’s also includes “author” as a verb for “to be an author of.” This conversion of a noun into a verb is a process that almost always encounters resistance among the guardians of style. The Associated Press Stylebook, for example, prohibits the use of “author” as a verb.
“Garner’s Modern American Usage” is more reasonable, acknowledging that...
Read more
Another group of “auto-” terms is about forms of government.
An “autocracy” is the type in which “one person has absolute power.” This is also known as “dictatorship” or “despotism.”
More generally, “autocrat” can be applied to “any domineering, self-willed person.”
Here’s one that was new to me: the adjective “autocephalous.” The combining form “cephalo-” and its variations mean “the head, skull or brain,” but in this case it refers to the head of a church.
“Certain churches within the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church,” says Webster’s, are called “autocephalous” — “self-governing; independent.”
And then there are “autarchy” and...
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Another group of “auto-” terms is about forms of government.
An “autocracy” is the type in which “one person has absolute power.” This is also known as “dictatorship” or “despotism.”
More generally, “autocrat” can be applied to “any domineering, self-willed person.”
Here’s one that was new to me: the adjective “autocephalous.” The combining form “cephalo-” and its variations mean “the head, skull or brain,” but in this case it refers to the head of a church.
“Certain churches within the communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church,” says Webster’s, are called “autocephalous” — “self-governing; independent.”
And then there are “autarchy” and...
Read more
