It has come to my attention that some people have a difficult time grasping the difference between the etymology of a word and the definition of a word. This is a very basic, yet (apparently) commonly misunderstood, distinction. Allow me to explain.
Etymology refers to a word’s linguistic origins. The definition, on the other hand, is the meaning of the word as it is used in the language today. A word’s etymology may suggest its original meaning at the time of its earliest occurence, but usually that meaning is very different from its current usage. Or, to put it more simply: Definitions change; etymology does not.
To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at the English word “husband.”
The word comes from Old English hus (house) + OE buan (to dwell or live).* So, the word’s etymology is, “one who dwells in the house.” That was, most likely, what the word meant in the popular lexicon of 11th-12th century Britain.
The definition of the word today, as we know, is very different. Merriam-Webster defines it as, “a male partner in marriage.” Notice that the roots contain no reference to men, marriage, or partnership, yet that is how we use it today. That’s natural language change at work - which is what the entire field of linguistics is based around.
But what about the word “husbandry”? Some have suggested that because “husbandry” is most often used to refer to the breeding of livestock, that this somehow demonstrates an inherent misogynism in the English language - a perception of women as no better than livestock. This conclusion is disingenuous at best, and just plain stupid at worst.
Clearly, “husbandry” derives from “husband.” The suffix -ry signifies an action, process, or state of the root noun. Therefore, the etymology of husbandry is, “the act of dwelling in a house,” or even, more liberally, “the care of a household.”
Are we all clear now? (I haven’t linked to the blog post that inspired this Linguistics 101 lesson, because I have more to say about it later, and I don’t want you all jumping ahead and reading it before I can go off on my other rants related to it.) If you need further clarification, well, I don’t know what more I can do for you.
* Ed. note: “Husband” was originally borrowed into English from Old Norse, but the ON roots had the same meaning and were almost the same phonemically. Therefore, this further bit of history is immaterial to the example, but I wanted to point it out lest someone try to call me on an error.
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8 Responses to "Explaining the fundamentals of my college degree"
Don’t forget the archaic and wonderfully redundant-seeming “husbandman.” It’s no longer in common use, but if it were, current feminist sensitivity would require us to coin “husbandwoman” or “husbandperson,” which would be delightful.
I don’t know if you mean that facetiously or what, but yeah, it would be “delightful,” and necessary - just like how it’s necessary to say, for example, “salesperson” instead of defaulting to “salesman,” or to say “saleswoman” if you know you’re talking about a female.
Interestingly, in fact, Old English had a word related to ON hsbndi that meant “mistress of a house.” Had this word survived into Modern English, it would have sounded identical to “husband.”
I don’t mean to be facetious. I appreciate the concerns behind inclusive language and I support the practice. This is simply a case when it would lead to an amusing result, and it’s that process — the strange yet sensible way that language evolves to accomodate history and circumstance, and its unpredictable outcomes — that delights me. Y’know: etymology. Fantastic stuff.
Etymology gets me hot.
So the plural of husband is not husbandren?
“a house bound husband savors precocious apricots and ripe pumpkins”.
find the other 2 redundancies. ;]
nice site. i’ll browse.
unintional pun on the double entry. sorry.
where would i even start to get a specialized degree in etymology? i’v got a few years to persue the field.
any colleges courses or texts to reccomend?
learning is an end unto itself.
audacity is planning on a contribution.
hubris is expecting it.
i hope i can somehow add knowledge and understanding.
I recommend beginning with “pursue” and branching out from there.