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Denizen

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:08 pm
by Perry Lassiter
In one series of posts today "denizen" was used by two, and I also used it recently. If it hasn't been done, it might make a good word. If it has, perhaps Slava can resurrect it.

Re: Denizen

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:19 pm
by Slava
Neither done nor previously suggested. Good word.

Does anyone else agree with me that it is a wee bit pejorative, at least at times?

I don't think you could be called a denizen of Harrods, but a denizen of your local pub, yes.

Re: Denizen

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:01 pm
by Perry Lassiter
I think denizen originally was more perjorative, referring to an underclass. More lately I have mostly seen it used as in the other thread, referring to regular members, guests, inhabitants of a site. Most likely it moved up in humor and still holds a faintly humorous scent about it.

Re: Denizen

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:20 pm
by Philip Hudson
Being cursed with almost total recall (although it is fading fast with age), I distinctly remember the first time I read the word "denizen". I was about nine years old and it was a magazine article called "Denizens of the Deep." I automatically assumed it referred only to sea creatures. Later found that it was used more generally. I don't think pejorative when I read or use it.

Has anyone ever wondered why we can’t remember experiences we had when we were infants? I think it may be because we haven’t developed a frame of reference in which to store memories.

Re: Denizen

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:02 pm
by Perry Lassiter
More likely it has to do with brain development. I recently read an article stating the part of the brain that deals with good judgment usually finishes developing in the late twenties, which explains a lot. There is also a transition period where children move from concrete to abstract thinking. My hunch is that the infant mind is more occupied with learning to sort out the big blurring confusion all around it. My earliest reliable memory goes back to three or four, sitting on the cool concrete step and listening to a mockingbird.

Re: Denizen

Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:54 am
by Philip Hudson
I have some early memories. I think my earliest memory was of touching a patch of sunlight that was coming through a window on to the floor. I touched it and said the word "hot". I was not yet a toddler. The hero in "The Tin Drum" by Günter Grass claimed to have prenatal memories.