Refugee

[Dr. Goodword]

• refugee •

Pronunciation: re-fyu-jee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A person forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster, who is seeking refuge or asylum in another country.

Notes: Today's Good Word seems to be a derivation of refuge. Nouns ending on the suffix -ee are produced only from verbs, however, and not from other nouns. This word has a few relatives. The status of being a refugee has been called refugeeism and refugeeship. In Australian slang from World War II refugee was reduced to reffo.

In Play: We sometimes forget the role of refugees in the success of the United States: "Sergei Brin, cofounder of Google, came to America as a refugee from the Soviet Union." However, we may be refugees from any bad situation: "Herman retired to the silence of his study, a refugee from the boring after dinner gabble."

Word History: Today's word comes from French refugié, the past participle of refugier "to take shelter, protect", used as a noun. This word was a hand-me-down from Latin refugere "to run away" consisting of re-, an intensifier here, + fugere "to run". Latin inherited fugere from Proto-Indo-European bheug- "to flee", which Greek turned into feugo "I flee", Lithuanian into begti "to run, flee", and Russian into begat' "to run, flee". This PIE word apparently never made it to the Germanic languages, like German or English. (Today we need to spread our gratitude over Katy Brezger, Iain Smallwood, and Jeremy Busch, all of whom over the years have recommended today's quite topical Good Word.)

[call_copse]

Also Steve Jobs father was famously a Syrian refugee IIRC.

It's the duty of all right minded citizens to resist the current conflation of refugee / asylum seeker with illegal immigrant IMO.

[damoge]

OH! IAIAN!

The dichotomy is not between refugee and "illegal immigrant"! First of all, the PERSON is not illegal. The person, for whatever reason, has committed an illegal action. SURELY you see that many who enter a country illegally may be doing so BECAUSE they are refugees, fleeing atrocities we can only read of, and never, I hope, fully understand, as such understanding comes only from experience.

Sorry to be yelling at you, but given what is happening in this country, I cannot state my position forcefully enough.

I've just taken a deep breath. I will save any further diatribe for locals, I hope. Thanks for listening.

[George Kovac]

How quickly language--in particular nuance--can evolve. I have posted previously how the word "heretic" changed from positive to pejorative in the space of a generation in the 4th century as a result of bitter theological disputes. But rarely is the process so rapid that we can see it unfolding before our eyes in real time.

Until a few months ago, "refugee" suggested reactions of empathy, pity, tragedy, victimhood, duty. Today the word just as likely invokes fear and the belief that the refugee is dangerous or seeking to undeservedly take something away from existing residents. (This in a country where most of us--unless we descend from slaves--can identify our first ancestor to arrive on these shores.)

Similarly, "elite" used to convey extraordinary quality, training and expertise, as in elite athletes, elite schools, elite practitioners of any profession--skills highly valued wherever leadership, judgment and performance are called for. But today "elite" is a pejorative.

I am not (at least directly) making a political comment here. This site is an inappropriate venue for politics. My primary point is about the evolution of language. Theology and politics can accelerate that process. We are today experiencing a fascinating and rapid change in the nuance of familiar words, and Dr. Goodword has shrewdly chosen a series of words over the last few weeks to encourage our examination of that process. That change is revealing, thrilling, bracing, and, in some cases, appalling.

[damoge]

George, Hear! Hear!

I find great solace in the rational and kindly commerce on here. I find it increasingly distressing to read other feeds on my computer that used to give me information.

Sic transit gloria.

[George Kovac]

I find great solace in the rational and kindly commerce on here.

Thank you for reminding us of that delightful meaning of the word "commerce," a rich word, which in common usage is limited to one of its multiple meanings. Often a single word lies at the intersection of several meanings, whose divergence enriches our understanding of the word in whatever context it is used. It may suggest analogy, metaphor, relationships, puns, whimsy and other associations and extend the conversation.

A quick check of an on-line dictionary lists as the second meaning of "commerce": "social relations, especially the exchange of views, attitudes, etc." Imagine if that were the remit of the Interstate Commerce Commission, or if that meaning lay at the heart of US Supreme Court decisions prohibiting restrictions on interstate commerce. Fanciful ideas, but worth a moment's reflection.

And how many meanings are there to the word "remit".....

[Perry Lassiter]

Thanks for the reminder, George, of rapid change as a result of circumstance. Saw another five terms yesterday that Merriam had added. How short do specialized meanings last? Will "post-truth" vanish in the next admin? I fear fake news will always be with us.