March 17, 2020

Trending words.



That's at Etymonoline (where I was just checking whether commenters, here, were doing folk etymology on the word "window").

I guess all those words were of interest because of coronavirus. A lot of people may be wondering if "pandemic" (not on the list) has something to do with "pandemonium" (#5 on the list):
1667, Pandæmonium, in "Paradise Lost" the name of the palace built in the middle of Hell, "the high capital of Satan and all his peers," and the abode of all the demons; coined by John Milton (1608-1674) from Greek pan- "all" (see pan-) + Late Latin daemonium "evil spirit," from Greek daimonion "inferior divine power," from daimōn "lesser god" (see demon).

Transferred sense "place of uproar and disorder" is from 1779; that of "wild, lawless confusion" is from 1865.
I can see why people are looking for "draconian," "hunker," and "curfew." These all seem coronavirus-related. But what's up with "subcontract"? A Google news search produces "Contracts, the law and coronavirus" (Washington Technology):
Disruption to the supply chain especially for IT products, many of the basic components of which come from China, could cause substantial backorders and long delays in meeting government delivery deadlines.... Most commercial contracts do contain a force majeure clause that excuses delay. Those same clauses, however, may or may not have the same protections as in prime contracts. Subcontracts also may not prohibit prime contractors from seeking goods and services elsewhere if a subcontractor cannot fulfill their obligations....
Force majeure! Obviously, that's what we've got.

I thought "palpate" was odd, but I see it in "Coronavirus: Virtual medical visits more prevalent as COVID-19 infections continue to spread" and now it makes perfect sense. Why do you need to see a doctor in person? When is a virtual visit enough? A doctor says to the patient, "Just want you to palpate your neck there for me... Any tenderness? Any lymph nodes?"

ADDED: I suspect that many people — especially with time on their hands and the internet at their disposal — wonder what it really means to "hunker" down? What exactly do you do when you hunker down? Are we crouching and squatting? Does it have to do with haunches... whatever haunches are...? Do I need a hunk to do it? I would like a hunk to do it... So many things to think about.

AND: Speaking of thinking about things... A "haunch" is "a buttock and thigh considered together." I'll consider a buttock and a thigh at the same time. Is it one thing or 2 things? There's a philosophical question for you. If you believe the buttock and thigh are a single thing, then "haunch" is your word. You're a haunchist. That doesn't mean you tend to see things as unified rather than distinct. It has more to do with whether you see the distinctions on a horizontal or a vertical plane.

44 comments:

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Palpate? Rey's grandfather? I thought that was old news now.

PubliusFlavius said...

Hunker down sounds very...suggestive.

Nonapod said...

I'm also interested in trending terms, like "flatten the curve" and... heck, can anyone remember the phrase "social distancing" being used much before a week or so ago?

James said...

"Subcontract" was a Jeopardy answer recently, having something to do with marriage (I think).

Ken B said...

Curfews are stupid. They have nothing to do with fixing things. In fact, if a place is open it’s better it be open longer so that it can be used at a lower density.

Ken B said...

Trending: “moderation sucks”. Seriously, if we can handle a national shutdown and the great TP Scarcity, surely we can handle comments from Achilles or Chuck or even she who will not be named.

Achilles said...

Haunch includes the upper leg.

Buttocks is just the butt.

ConradBibby said...

"Subcontract" was an answer on Jeopardy last night.

Achilles said...

Draconian is what happens when the sheep get outside the safe fences they made for themselves and they see things that they have blinded themselves to.

tcrosse said...

Well, a "leg" is a calf and a thigh, with a knee thrown in, so a "haunch" can be a buttock and a thigh, with a hip joint thrown in. One usually sees "haunch" as referring to a cut of venison.

Goddess of the Classroom said...

The beautiful imagery of metaphors. A "haunch" is most commonly used in reference to meat, as in a haunch of venison; in other words, a quarter of the carcass. "To hunker down" suggests a defensive posture, especially in the context of an attack or siege.
Have you found out whether the two words are related? I want them to be...

Lurker21 said...

Ever the contrarian, I will be hunkering up the next few days ...

Paco Wové said...

I was going to sing the praises of our Governor not panicking and closing all the things, but then she went ahead and did it today. Dunno, presumably she had good advice.

pacwest said...

I'm assuming subcontract has to do with people who are afraid of losing income and studying was to supplement.

phwest said...

Hunker means to squat (Random House unabridged). Interestingly, the noun form (hunkers) does in face mean haunches.

daskol said...

If you hanch the haunch, be ready to stanch.

daskol said...

Better a haunchist than a hancher.

Marc said...

Quarantine . . . Palpate . . . .


Emperor Palpatine!

daskol said...

Hunkering works the whole haunch.

Ann Althouse said...

Hunker burning love.

eddie willers said...

ALL Georgia Bulldog fans know how to hunker down. We wrote a song about it and Larry Munson drilled it into our heads.

Hunker down one more time

Anonymous said...

Are we just going to ignore "demotic"?

Sure it literally means "of the people," but if its being used to describe anything other than late-Ancient Egyptian, then they themselves don't know anything about the common people involved.

daskol said...

DeBlasio is a haunch: still motorcading to the gym in Brooklyn same day he's warning NYers about a shelter in place order and after the order to close gyms/bars/restaurants has gone into effect. You can hunker down and get your squats in, but Mayor Bill needs his routine. At

JML said...

I’m surprised ‘garner’ is on there.

JML said...

Reminds me of the origin of honcho. When the railroads were being built, they brought in a lot of Chinese labor. The name of the first Chinese gang leader was Hon Cho.

cronus titan said...

After my sister's second child, she was chatting about how hard it was too lose the pregnancy weight this time. She asked my brother in law what he thought. Sensing the danger, he told her she should looked great. Sensing his BS, she asked where it was most noticeable. Long pause as you could see the gerbils in his head running -- he was on red alert, shields up, evasive maneuvering, all hands battle stations. After a few moments, she demanded to know "Where??" He finally spit out . . . "in the haunches." It was so ridiculous and awesome even she laughed at him.

Earnest Prole said...

A "haunch" is "a buttock and thigh considered together.

Shriveled haunches are unappetizing.

Bay Area Guy said...

It's important to have Czechs and balances.......,

StephenFearby said...

When the wife asks, "What are we having for dinner?" I often reply (channeling the Cannibal Cop), "Haunch of Gwendolen, of course."

Distracting her from thinking about recent negative news like:

The Latest Study [on the Coronavirus Outlook] Isn’t Good

Evoking Dante's Inferno: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here)

Of course, there's always a possible deus ex machina.

https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/03/17/latest-study-isnt-good/

Maillard Reactionary said...

"anti" is not a word. As far as I know, that is. Perhaps it is the plural of "antus", but I don't know that word either.

If anyone can clarify, I would be grateful.

rhhardin said...

Haunch is used of animals, and then by anatomical analogy of people.

narciso said...

the breakfast of consequences

Maillard Reactionary said...

By the way, I prefer the original spelling pandæmonium of that excellent word.

Those stuck-together vowels (whatever they're called) are the umlauts of English. They add a certain panache to a word.

Example: Last Friday, there was pandæmonium in the local supermarket. The pandæmonium has since subsided, but certain commodities are still scare on the ground.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Someone decided to launch the haunches. Why wasn't I consulted?

Maillard Reactionary said...

StephenFearby quoted "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here)"

That would be a good motto for the Althouse blog.

Just kidding!

JML said...

Surprised 'garner' ISN'T on there. I should not use an iPad to post.

Mary Beth said...

Coronavirus memes have taught me "kalsarikannit" - Finnish word for when you're going to get drunk at home in your underwear with no intention of going out.

George Grady said...

Did you know that etymonline is the work of a single person from Pennsylvania who has done it just because he wanted to? Something Althousesque about that.

eddie willers said...

Did you know that etymonline is the work of a single person from Pennsylvania who has done it just because he wanted to? Something Althousesque about that.

I hadn't heard of them, so I went there and there was a Chrome browser extension. Many reviews, very high ratings. I added it....thanks!

traditionalguy said...

As for Haunches: A Bulldog is the animal that hunkers down on its haunches. In fact they never hunker up.

A large leg of lamb is a haunch that resembles a club. An old Alfred Hitchcock Presents show on that subject is an all time favorite. The prim and proper wife kills her husband by coming up behind him sitting on the sofa and smashing his head in with a frozen Leg of Lamb. She is later being questioned by the Police Detectives who are confounded as they search the home for the murder weapon, and she kindly brings them each a plate of cooked Lamb.

Anonymous said...

What exactly do you do when you hunker down?

It's a football term. Common in UGA games. "Hunker down, you hairy dogs." It means to get down in a crouch and get ready.

Anonymous said...

A Bulldog is the animal that hunkers down on its haunches.

Exactly. Georgia bulldogs.

HoodlumDoodlum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HoodlumDoodlum said...

Hunkering defined: UGA AUB 1982

Go Dawgs!