ADVERTENT

[Dr. Goodword]

• advertent •

Pronunciation: æd-vêrt-ênt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Attentive, heedful, aware.

Notes: Today's Good if rarely used Word is the adjective of the verb advert "take heed of, pay attention to" (as opposed to avert "turn away from"). Its negative correlate, inadvertent "inattentive, heedless" is used so much more frequently, it is often taken as an orphan negative, a negative without a corresponding positive. The verb is also related to advertisement, a noun which the British reduce to advert, too. (The Americans trim it all the way back to ad.)

In Play: Today's Good Word is the just opposite of inadvertent in the strictest senses of the two words: "Josie, you should be more advertent of the clock when you come to work in the morning and try to arrive a bit closer to the time we open." We also should be more advertent of the verb today's word is based on: "If everyone would advert to the smoke coming from the ceiling, I'm sure we would all agree that it is time to vacate the building."

Word History: Today's word comes to us from Latin advertere "turn toward," from ad "toward" + vertere "to turn". Both the English words versus and adverse are related to this Latin stem. The root that morphed into this Latin verb came into the Germanic languages as werth, which ended up as English -ward "in the direction of", heard in words like toward, westward, and homeward. We should also be advertent of the fact that the E and R traded places at some point in a process known as 'metathesis', so that the same root gave us writhe and wreath, both involved somehow with turning.

[Brazilian dude]

The root that morphed into this Latin verb came into the Germanic languages as werth, which ended up as English -ward "in the direction of", heard in words like toward, westward, and homeward.

And Tim Ward!

Brazilian dude

[tcward]

Yes, I used to wonder if I could be related to the great Renaissance musician and composer, Giaches de Werth.

-Tim

[Stargzer]

Hmmmmm. Tim Ward-Werth. Sounds like a Romantc Poet, or maybe just some fellow long ago . . .

[Brazilian dude]

Je vous avertis que vous avez passé des limites.

Advirto-lhes que passaram dos limites.

Les advierto que han pasado de los límites.

Brazilian dude

[Perry]

Hmmmmm. Tim Ward-Werth. Sounds like a Romantc Poet, or maybe just some fellow long ago . . .

Actually, on a good day, he is Tim Mirth-Werth.

[Stargzer]

Who's Tim Werth?

A lot!

[Perry]

Who's Tim Werth?

A lot!

Don't you mean, what's Tim Werth?