December 15, 2018

"Masculate."

I learned a new word, new to me, so new I would have credited myself with coining it if it hadn't been in the dictionary. Why don't we use that word? We use "emasculate." One explanation is that it is "Now largely superseded by masculinize" (OED). Why should "masculinize" win out over "masculate"? "Masculate" is more masculine!

24 comments:

Jupiter said...

I must take issue with your use of "in the dictionary". I realize that this is a common usage, but it is inherently erroneous, and pernicious. There are multiple dictionaries, they do not always agree, and none of them is definitive. Each of them was compiled by a single person or a group, and they necessarily express the opinions of that person or group. The common tendency to ascribe final authority to "the dictionary" is a category error, and is indicative of a lazy approach to understanding language.

tcrosse said...

Can we then remove the leading e from effeminate to produce feminate?

tcrosse said...

Does one become ineffable after their last day of being effable?

Jupiter said...

A very common symptom of this mental error is the tendency to commence an argument by citing "the definition" of some word, invariably quoted from some dictionary. Whatever conclusions are derived from such a beginning are necessarily of limited validity, as they are tainted by the supposition that all matters are matters of fact.

Jupiter said...

We can certainly produce feminate, but I suspect that effability is oscillatory.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

"I once witnessed my opponent masculating in a restaurant with a group of notorious thespians!"

Jupiter makes some great comments, BTW.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

I'm not understanding Jupiter's complaint. Althouse says she would have claimed authorship of the word but it was already in the dictionary.

If it's already defined, then that means Althouse didn't coin the phrase. Seems pretty definitive to me.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Jupiter's rant sort of an aside, and it's a thought I have often had. So in internet usage, since Jupiter agrees with me, Jupiter is either "Brilliant" or "A Genius."

Jupiter said...

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

"If it's already defined, then that means Althouse didn't coin the phrase. Seems pretty definitive to me."

Certainly. Dictionaries are useful, and in this instance Althouse used one correctly. Nonetheless, I take issue with "in the dictionary". Suppose Althouse had checked a dictionary, and finding that masculate was not "in the dictionary", claimed to have coined it?

Dave in Tucson said...

Sounds/reads too much like masticate?

Zorfwaddle said...

Two different lineages of etymology. Emasculate went one way and survived, while masculate went another way and was mugged in an alley by masculinize. Perhaps due to some sort of change in subject focus (masculate) vs an direct object focus (masculinize). Just my humble opinion. Sorry for all the retired-Navy-linguist speak, lol.

Baceseras said...

Sounds/reads too much like masticate 

Agreed, they seem too similar.

Unless I miscalculate.

Just asking questions (Jaq) said...

Freezing language in dictionaries is like nailing jello to a wall.

Michael said...

There's also "macerate" - to soften by soaking - which isn't helpful either.

Trumpit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tcrosse said...

To Masculate is to be Master of One's Domain.

Trumpit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marc in Eugene said...

She masculated her name from Stephanie to Shirley? There are reasons why Shirley is not as famous as e.g. Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, I expect.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

It sounds too much like "masticate."

Maillard Reactionary said...

Why limit our concerns to "emasculate"? There is also "immaculate" to consider:

Apeneck Sweeney spread his knees
Letting his arms hang down to laugh,
The zebra stripes along his jaw
Swelling to maculate giraffe...

From "Sweeney Among the Nightingales" (T.S. Eliot)

Whether or not he consulted the dictionary first will be left as an exercise for the reader.

traditionalguy said...

Masculating takes testosterone fueled energy applied by strong shoulders and arms with the powerful legs and instinctive balance highlighted by a hand grip that cannot be escaped. That's why most women do not do it.

The Vault Dweller said...

Masculate sounds like a detergent additive one would use to get out 'biological' stains on clothes.

Unknown said...

Why don't we use gruntled as an antonym for disgruntled?

Marc in Eugene said...

The famous dictionary does say that 'gruntled' is in current use, although it is in the second lowest frequency range.