Posts Tagged ‘the generic sense’
Word for the Wise: Father’s words
March 9th, 2010
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Author: On the Friday before Father's Day, we look at matters paternal.
The adjective paternal was born of pater (Latin for "father") in the 15th century. The English Pater itself dates back to the 14th century, when it was borrowed into our language as a shortening of the Latin paternoster (literally, "Our Father"). Pater can still refer to the Lord's Prayer, but when you hear British speakers pronounce the word \pay-ter\, they are using it in the generic sense "father."
If you guessed that the English father is distantly related to the Latin pater, pat yourself on the back. Other linguistic relatives of that ancient word (father is as old as our language itself) include pater and pitri, the Greek and Sanskrit terms for "father."
(more...)
The adjective paternal was born of pater (Latin for "father") in the 15th century. The English Pater itself dates back to the 14th century, when it was borrowed into our language as a shortening of the Latin paternoster (literally, "Our Father"). Pater can still refer to the Lord's Prayer, but when you hear British speakers pronounce the word \pay-ter\, they are using it in the generic sense "father."
If you guessed that the English father is distantly related to the Latin pater, pat yourself on the back. Other linguistic relatives of that ancient word (father is as old as our language itself) include pater and pitri, the Greek and Sanskrit terms for "father."
(more...)
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