Sooth

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Dr. Goodword
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Sooth

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:44 pm

• sooth •


Pronunciation: suth • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: The meaning of today's Good Word, forsooth, is but "truth" or "reality".

Notes: When I was in high school, the North Carolina legislature mandated the teaching of one Shakespearean play each year for all four years of high school. I ran with a crowd that not only refused to bemoan this requirement, but read several additional Shakespearean plays each spring. The result was that we became so proficient in the poetical English of the Bard, that we actually conversed in it up and down the halls, much to the bemusement of our schoolmates.
Image
In Play: The upshot was that I collected a catalog of words that should not have been allowed to escape our palates; today's Good Word is one such. It actually still lurks inside other words, like forsooth "truly" and soothsayer "prognosticator, fortune-teller". But why do we no longer hear, "Forsooth, the weather soothsayer predicts mild weather for the weekend. Prithee, should we venture forth to the countryside then?" I think my high school mates and I might have liked these words because they are all purely English and not borrowed from a Romance language.

Word History: The [s] in today's word is actually the same as the [s] in is, for sooth is based on PIE es- "to be". The present participle of this word was sont- "being, existing, real, true". That final [t] would have become [th] in Germanic languages. English retained the [th] but lost the [n]; Danish sand "true" and Swedish sann "true" retain the [n] but not the [th]. Other words from es- include Sanskrit swastika "good luck charm", from su "good" + es-ti "is", forming svasti "well-being", the root of swastika. In the West it has brought no one good luck.
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bbeeton
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Re: Sooth

Postby bbeeton » Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:32 am

I'm getting tired of seeing this word in supposedly literate text when "soothe" is meant. The Good Doctor has tied the two words together via "forsooth" and "soothsayer", but that doesn't excuse the misuse.

It's probably fair to blame this on automatic spellcheckers, which will never be fail-safe for English. Oh, how I dislike spellcheckers! All they do is provide a false sense of security.

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Slava
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Re: Sooth

Postby Slava » Thu Oct 27, 2022 12:03 pm

Ancient history, but worth repeating:

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea,
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight for it two say,
Weather eye and wring oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long,
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should bee proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaw's are knot aloud.

Eye have run this poem threw it
Your sure reel glad two no,
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

-Sauce unknown
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Debbymoge
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Re: Sooth

Postby Debbymoge » Fri Oct 28, 2022 11:33 am

Thank you, Slava! I intend to share that widely.

That should be on the cover of every machine that includes spellcheck, a warning and a reminder.
Of course, no spell check would mean not only less shouting at the screen as you notice too late that you hit the "send" before proofreading, but also the not infrequent hoots of laughter when the "correction" is either wildly different or preternaturally apropos.

By the way, is spellcheck a trademarked name? I'm wondering if it is a new kleenex.
I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
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Philip Hudson
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Re: Sooth

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Oct 28, 2022 3:33 pm

The Good Doctors story about Shakespearean speech being used in high school is similar to mine. When I found out that zounds was a contraction of "God's wounds" I expurgated from my speaking vocabulary. As for spell check. I use it constantly. I am aware of its problems, so I trust it advisedly.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

David Myer
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Re: Sooth

Postby David Myer » Wed Nov 02, 2022 6:06 am

Great stuff, everyone. It is entertaining discourse. Love the verse, Slava. And of course what spellchecker does for your name is to turn you into a subservient serf.

Is there veracity in the aversion that sooth is truth?


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