REPROBATE

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

REPROBATE

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:54 am

• reprobate •


Pronunciation: re-prê-beyt

Part of Speech: Transitive verb, Adjective, Noun

Meaning: 1. [Verb] To rebuke, admonish, condemn. 2. [Adjective] Morally corrupt, condemned to eternally. 3. [Noun] A person so morally corrupt as to be already condemned to eternal damnation.

Notes: The Good Word today is a close kinsword of verb reprove "rebuke, admonish". The verb reprobate, which has the same meaning, was borrowed directly from Latin, while reprove came to us through the softening processes of French. In addition to using this word as all three major parts of speech, there is a derived noun, reprobation and an adjective, reprobative, which means pretty much the same as the adjective, reprobate.

In Play: Well, this is a good word not to play with; deploy it carefully: "He was officially reprobated by his company for taking kickbacks under the table." The adjective is equally powerful, "She fell in love with a reprobate laundry man who took her to the cleaners." You shouldn't use the noun lightly, either: "Half the kids in town look like the old reprobate."

Word History: In Middle English today's word meant "condemned". It was taken from Late Latin reprobatus, the past participle of reprobare "to reprove, admonish", a word based on re- "opposite" + probare "to approve". Probare comes from Latin probus "upright", which underlies English probity "uprightness, good moral character". In French, reprobare became today's réprouver with the same meaning as its English counterpart.
• The Good Dr. Goodword

Apoclima
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 555
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:00 pm

Postby Apoclima » Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:14 am

Nice! Reprobate is one of my favorite swear words!

"Reprobates and the women who love them."

Apo
'Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination.' -Max Planck

M. Henri Day
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1141
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am
Location: Stockholm, SVERIGE

Re: REPROBATE

Postby M. Henri Day » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:42 pm

• reprobate •...

Meaning: ... 2. [Adjective] Morally corrupt, condemned to eternally. ...
Please, dear Dr Goodword, don't leave us in excruciating suspense - what's the missing verb ?!!

Henri
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

Apoclima
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 555
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:00 pm

Postby Apoclima » Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:55 pm

Good question, Henri!
"He was officially reprobated by his company for taking kickbacks under the table."
Is this a passive construction?

Can we say?:

His company officially reprobated him for taking kickbacks under the table.

This doesn't sound right to me! But, perhaps it is!
He reprobates and punishes them for their sins, because that, in spite of all he could wisely do to reclaim them, they would remain in their sins.
REPROBATION
by the Rev. CHARLES G. FINNEY


Sitran
'Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination.' -Max Planck

M. Henri Day
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1141
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am
Location: Stockholm, SVERIGE

Postby M. Henri Day » Sat Feb 26, 2005 5:14 pm

My guess is that the verb(s) employed will be mainly culinary, i e, «fried», «stewed», «roasted», «boiled», etc ; obviously the concept of sin makes people hungry. But let us see what our good doctor comes up with....

Henri
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

Flaminius
Lexiterian
Posts: 408
Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 4:36 am

Postby Flaminius » Sat Feb 26, 2005 6:48 pm

Apo,
I think I have read "reprobate" in active voice in some text by one of the man of letters of 18th century England. If your example sentense, "His company officially reprobated him for taking kickbacks under the table," poses some difficulty of parsing, I should imagine the impersonal subject has a lot to do with it. How does the following sentence sound (or read) to your judgement?

The king reprobated his minister for taking bribes under the table.

Flam

M. Henri Day
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1141
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am
Location: Stockholm, SVERIGE

Postby M. Henri Day » Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:04 pm

...

The king reprobated his minister for taking bribes under the table.
- But forgave him when he promised to take all bribes over the table in the future....

Henri

PS : - and split the take, of course....
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

Apoclima
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 555
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:00 pm

Postby Apoclima » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:29 pm

Not sure!

It sounds awkward to me in any case, though it may be correct usage!

I think the passive sounds "moderne," while the active sounds archaic.

"The minister was reprobated by his king....."

We'll see what the Doc says!

Apo
'Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination.' -Max Planck

M. Henri Day
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1141
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am
Location: Stockholm, SVERIGE

Postby M. Henri Day » Sun Feb 27, 2005 7:58 am

...

It sounds awkward to me in any case, though it may be correct usage!

...
The use of «reprobate» as a verb sounds awkward to my ears as well. I prefer the shorter «reprove» (improved as it were, by its passage through French) as the verb («The king reproved his minister»), and «reprobate» as the noun, as in «old reprobate» (present company, as always, excepted)....

Henri
曾记否,到中流击水,浪遏飞舟?

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
Contact:

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Jun 03, 2012 2:10 pm

Another digging out from '05. I don't remember ever hearing nor reading reprobate used as a verb. Nor do I have the impression of its always being so serious. The most common usage I encounter is "that old reprobate" most often in an affectionate tone, but also sometimes desparingly.
pl


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 43 guests