The English language is quirky. There are rules but often exceptions. That can be confusing.
Here's an example. Usually the prefix "un-" indicates a word means the opposite of the same word without the prefix. Common/uncommon; usual/unusual. But that isn't always the case.
There are words we see frequently but don't really know their meaning. "Uncanny" is a good example. If you don't know what uncanny means and guess at it from context, you're likely wrong. Also, "uncanny" does not mean the opposite of "canny". Their meanings are wholly unrelated. Do you know what the two words mean?
"Uncanny" describes something strange or mysterious, often extraordinary or supernatural. "Canny" refers to a person who's smart or shrewd and profits from the trait.
Now you know. 👻
One of my favorite words that we don't use is 'gruntled'
ReplyDeleteYou hear disgruntled but never without its prefix!
Love it! Reminds me of "couth" and "uncouth": nobody says couth.
DeleteI looked up and learned this about your word:
• Unlike most words, "gruntled" did not originally come before "disgruntled". Historically, the verb gruntle meant to grumble or murmur.
• The Prefix "Dis-": When disgruntled was formed in the 17th century, the dis- acted as an intensifier (meaning "thoroughly grumbling") rather than a negative prefix.
• Literary Invention: The positive word gruntled was later created as a joke—most famously popularized by author P.G. Wodehouse in his 1938 novel The Code of the Woosters ("...he was far from being gruntled"). Over time, people began using it regularly as the opposite of being disgruntled.
I did know the meaning of both. Susie Dent talks a lot about orphan words where they have lost their opposite meaning. Ruthless is one of those but Ruth used to mean mercy or goodness.
ReplyDeleteThank you, for your knowledge and niceness.
DeleteThat's exactly why I love the English language so much! xxx
ReplyDeleteThis is why I did a degree in Linguistics. Word origins is my jam!
ReplyDeleteI respect that knowledge and thirst for more.
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