Word Study -> Logophiles please come in!

[Ms.Beau]

---

what do you call a person who is not a writer but loves to study words anyway? whatever that is, this thread is for that person.

__________________________________________________ ______________________

okay, the word I want to share today is the word beau, and yup, that also happens to be my first name (really).

1. Origin - it's actually from the french words bel and beau which both mean handsome. (i think belle is the feminine form...french nouns have gender.) the french word bel comes from the latin word bellus which means beautiful.

2. Pronunciation - boh (long o sound...dili byu!)

3. Part of speech and meaning - okay, so the word is not only used a noun but also as a verb! I only learned about the latter today...see, it's always good to check the dictionary from time to time.

–noun
1. a frequent and attentive male companion
2. a male escort for a girl or woman
3. a dandy; fop
–verb (used with object)
4. to escort (a girl or woman), as to a social gathering --> this is interesting. im not sure of the inflections. perhaps beau, beaud, beauing? the source doesn't show these eh. oh well, if those are correct then we can say, "Brad Pitt beaud Ms.Beau to her victory party." acheche...that may seem funny but funny examples help you remember more *wink*

4. related word is beauish (adjective). i guess this is based on meaning #3 above. beauish = dandyish


so, why in the world was I named Beau when the word means boyfriend? did my mother miss to check the meaning? don't worry, she didn't. my complete first name is Beau Ideal and this phrase has another meaning. but of course that will be in another word study session.

source: www.dictionary.com

[diem]

what do you call a person who is not a writer but loves to study words anyway? whatever that is, this thread is for that person.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

@ms. beau, the closest noun I found that fits the bill is "logophile".

Logophile is one of the many words, and probably the most common, referring to people who love words. It tends not to get included in dictionaries because it's not terribly common in the mainstream, even though dictionary people, most of whom are themselves logophiles, run into it more often than most.

The word logophile is formed from logo-, a combining form meaning 'word', from Greek lógos 'word', and -phile, a suffix meaning 'lover of; enthusiast for (something specified)', from Latin from Greek -philos 'beloved'.

Some other useful words to keep in mind are verbivore, or 'eater of words'; verbiphage, or 'devourer of words'; logolept 'a word maniac'; logomisia 'a disgust for certain words' (useful one, this); and logogogue 'a self-styled word expert'.

For your consideration.

Source: http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/inde...?date=19970924

[Ms.Beau]

thanks, diem! yes, logophile is the word. logophile = word buff

the term actually reminds me of bibliophile (lover or collector of books). now that's the power of association. memory improvement or learning in general takes advantage of this process--learning by association. now why don't we learn this way in this thread. the entries we post must somehow be related to any previous word entry or word that appears in a post. okay let's do that.

hmmm...why don't I share about the word etymology.

quoting --> 1. Origin - it's actually from the french words bel and beau which both mean handsome. (i think belle is the feminine form...french nouns have gender.) the french word bel comes from the latin word bellus which means beautiful.

I will change the word "Origin" to "Etymology"

1. Etymology of "etymology":
1350–1400; ME < L etymologia < Gk etymologÃ*a, equiv. to etymológ(os) studying the true meanings and values of words (étymo(s) true (see etymon) + lógos word, reason)
where: ME = Middle English
L = Latin
Gk = Gk

2. Part of speech and meanings - the word is a noun; plural form is etymologies
1. the derivation of a word
2. an account of the history of a particular word or element of a word
3. the study of historical linguistic change, esp. as manifested in individual words

3. Pronunciation - et-uh-mol-uh-jee (stress on the third syllable)

4. Related forms:
etymological, etymologic (adjectives)
etymologically (adverb)
etymologist (noun) - a lexicographer who specializes in etymology


5. Hmmmm...and the fun part! My example would be:

Do you think Ms.Beau is a frustrated etymologist? I think she is. Now she's using this forum as an outlet tsk tsk.


Source: www.dictionary.com

[Ms.Beau]

ey fellas, please feel free to share in this word-study bank. your presentation style doesn't have to be like mine...please feel free to discuss however you like it. the important thing is that a word is studied and shared!

thanks!

[Ms.Beau]

Short Lessons

Lesson learned thus far: logos is a greek word which means "word".

Lesson now: verbum is the latin counterpart.

Hence we have the words:
verbal
verbalize
verbatim - (ver-bey-tim), adv & adj, word for word
verbose - (ver-bohs), adj, wordy
verbiage - (vur-bee-ij), noun, wordiness, wording

Example:
I'm the best eavesdropper and rumormonger in the world because I can relay private conversations verbatim.

Source: www.dictionary.com

[Ms.Beau]

logophile = word buff

buff is a simple word but our word of the day nonetheless!

ever wondered how we got this word to mean devotee or avid student/fan? again, it's etymology will enlighten us.

1. Etymology - earlier buffe wild ox, back formation from buffle < MF < LL būfalus)
where:
*back formation - Linguistics --> creation of one word from another word that appears to be a
derived or inflected form of the first by dropping the apparent affix or by modification
*LL = Late Latin

2. Pronunciation - buhf

3. Part of speech and meanings (simplified):
–noun
1. a soft, thick, light-yellow leather originally made from buffalo
2. a brownish-yellow color; tan.
3. a buff stick or buff wheel (stick with a buff leather or the like)
4. a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject
5. Informal. the bare skin --> in the buff = naked; completely unclothed
6. a thick, short coat of buffalo leather
7. Informal. a buffalo

–adjective
8. having the color of buff
9. made of buff leather
10. Slang. physically attractive; muscular

–verb (used with object)
11. to clean or polish
12. to polish or shine, esp. with a buffer: to buff shoes
13. to dye or stain in a buff color


we can see that all the meanings make reference to its origin--buffalo. specifically, meaning #4's explanation goes: (Origin) a person enthusiastic about firefighting and firefighters, allegedly after the buff uniforms once worn by volunteer firefighters in New York City

hmmmm...do you know anyone who's a word buff as well as a buff athlete? deadly combination hmmmm...kindly refer him to me hehe


Source: www.dictionary.com

[Ms.Beau]

buff

10. Slang. physically attractive; muscular

let's take meaning #10 of the word "buff" and associate it with the word beefy.

I'd like to focus on just two points.

1. beefy = buff = muscular in build; brawny; heavy (meaning is quite self-explanatory)
2. root word --> beef
Slang Meanings:
- noun : a complaint; an argument or dispute
- verb : to complain; grumble

Question: How did the word "beef" get its slang meanings?

Answer: No one is entirely certain of how "beef" became slang for "an argument" or "a complaint," a usage which first appeared in the U.S. during the late 1800s. It is entirely possible, however, and perhaps even likely, that "beef" in this sense is simply a sort of shorthand to describe a situation or complaint that might well escalate into a "beefy" muscular conflict.

Example: I don't start any beef here in istorya....Oh yeah I do.


Sources:
www.dictionary.com
www.word-detective.com

[Ms.Beau]

5. Informal. the bare skin --> in the buff = naked; completely unclothed

Here are phrases / expressions which mean "naked", with explanations for the not-so-obvious ones:

1. in the buff / stripped to the buff - Dates from the 1600s, buff alluding to a soft, undyed leather, buffskin, that also gave its name to the color.

2. in the raw / raw - Presumably also alluding to raw (undressed) leather, dates from the early 1900s.

3. naked as a jaybird - This simile replaced the 19th-century naked as a robin and is unclear, since neither bird is normally stripped of its feathers. Further, the bird it refers to is more often called simply "jay" rather than "jaybird," yet the latter is always part of the simile. [c. 1940]

4. in the altogether - Altogether is an adverb meaning "completely, entirely". Undressed people are said in informal speech to be "in the altogether", perhaps a shortening of the phrase "altogether naked".

5. stark naked - derived from steort-naked, or start-naked, literally tail-naked, and hence wholly naked
[Origin: 1520–30; stark + naked; r. start-naked (start, ME; OE steort tail; c. D staart, OHG sterz, ON stertr)]
where ME=Middle English; OE=Old English; D=Dutch; OHG=Old High German; ON=Old Norse

6. bare-assed / bare-ass

7. peeled


Never confuse "all together" with "in the altogether". To illustrate:

"The wedding guests were all together in the garden for a late-night party, while the newlyweds were in their room...in the altogether."

(sensya na sa example ha)

Sources:
www.dictionary.com
www.wsu.edu

[splendid moonlight]

i suspect that the slang "beefy" might've come into existence because of a time some place where there was scarcity of food, which eventually resulted in a lot of arguments or complaints from and between people/tribes.

this is what i found on the internet. http://www.montana.edu/wwwfpcc/tribes/Short.html
it's a short history of a town called Fort Peck. Fort Peck also turns out to be a town in Montana, United States.

"WINTER OF STARVATION

"In the Fall of 1883 supplies and annuities were late in being delivered to the Agency-and with an early Winter the Agency was short of stored supplies. The buffalo had been exterminated by white hide-hunters and this added to the critical food shortage. E. E. Snider, Agent at the Fort Peck jurisdiction at Poplar,, in his report to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on October 27, 1883, stated that there was drout and a total crop failure with scarcity of buffalo and he recommended an increase in the appropriation of annuities for the Assiniboines. He wrote, "I fear trouble is ahead of us." With the terrible winter of 1883-84 transportation of any kind was at a standstill and no additional food supplies were ever delivered to the Wolf Point Agency. Starvation was the imminent result and data from a case file states that over 300 members of the Assiniboined Tribe died during the winter, early 1884, in the vicinity of the Wolf Point Agency.""

hmmn.. esep esep. basin pud.

----


let me also add to the expressions / words which means "naked."

naked is the state of not having any clothes while nekkid is not having any clothes on but having some very naughty thoughts.

now i searched for the etymology of "nekkid" but stumbled into someone's blog instead. there i saw the word "gymnasium" and learned that the word gymnasium comes from the greek word "gymnos" which means "naked."

from wikipedia:
"gymnos (γυμνός), meaning "naked", by way of the related verb gymnazein, whose special meaning was "to do physical exercise". The verb had this meaning because one undressed for exercise. Hence the noun, which appears to mean "place to be naked", actually meant "place for physical exercise". Historically, the gymnasium was used for exercise, communal bathing, and scholarly and philosophical pursuits."

now the fact that there are people who hit on/check out other people of their sexual preference inside the gym must have some correlation to the origin of the word.

[Ms.Beau]

^ey thanks for that info, Luthienne. very interesting too. knowing the origin of the word really helps noh? aside from learning a bit of history, the word becomes meaningful and easy to remember. guess what, from this time on, everytime i come across the word "beef" or "beefy", a mini-movie would then run in my mind...the title of course is "Winter of Starvation". :mrgreen: