 Continued
from page 1, column 1
Whatever the cause of Caligula’s malevolence, by 41
a lot of people had had enough. Caligula’s longtime
friend Cassius Chaerea, whom Caligula mocked relentlessly
for his effeminacy, perpetuated a conspiracy to have the emperor
murdered.
After the dirty deed was done, Cassius and another killed
Caligula’s wife Caesonia and their infant daughter Julia.
Cassius, who did not enjoy sufficient support among the Praetorians,
was tried and executed with his own murder weapon for his
crimes.
Sources: Wikipedia,
vroma.org, roman-emperors.org.
ETYMOLOGY
101
The
origin of: ain’t
As a kid, you probably heard the expression “ain’t
ain’t a word.” This was usually followed up by
a claim that you couldn’t find the word in the dictionary.
In the years that have passed since this childhood taunt,
I’ve learned that ain’t is
a word, and has been listed in the dictionary for at least
35 years—the age of my oldest dictionary. Though widely
reprehended by self-proclaimed pedants everywhere, the contraction
has at least three meanings: is not, am not, and are not.
Although the meaning of ain’t
is clear, its origins aren’t.
Webster’s places ain’t’s
origins after 1660, when the first printed evidence of negative
contractions appeared. Among the defunct are ben’t,
an’t, en’t
and han’t. These were either
replaced by newer contractions or went out of use. Others,
like can’t, shan’t,
don’t and won’t,
are still in use today. The precursor to ain’t was an’t,
which means “am not.” It first appeared in 1695,
in William Congreve’s Love for Love.
The transition from “am not” to “an’t”
is easy to discern: “am not” was first abbreviated
to amn’t, then the m
and n—which sound familiar,
were combined. Aren’t sounds
a lot like an’t when pronounced
with a British accent.
Ain’t was first used in print in a 1778 novel by Fanny
Burney entitled Evelina, and historians
have since struggled to understand how the “i”
found its way into an’t. Since
the word ain’t and its precursor are forms
of speech, there is relatively little printed evidence as
to how they evolved. By the end of the 19th century, an’t
had all but disappeared.
The bottom line is, ain’t is a word, and I’m sure
there ain’t no situation you couldn’t use it in.
Source: The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories
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Today’s Lesson:
the meaning of i.e. and e.g.,
and the difference between the two.
The Latin abbreviation i.e. stands for id est,
and means “that is.” It is used to clarify
a sentence.
In contrast, the abbreviation e.g. stands for exempli
gratia, and means “for example.”
It is used to provide examples in support of a sentence.
Correct uses:
I.E. – The CEO is allowed to use the
corporate jet, even when he is not engaged in company business
( i.e., he may use it for personal travel).
E.G. – Only non-electronic devices
( e.g., pens, pencils, handwritten notes) may be used
during the test.
Incorrect uses:
I.E. – Moms typically do all they can
to make their children happy ( i.e., cooking their favorite
meals, buying snacks).
Should be e.g., since the sentence is followed by examples,
and not a clarifying statement.
E.G. – People can improve their intelligence
by engaging in certain activities ( e.g., reading, writing,
crossword puzzles, etc.).
Correct use of e.g., but the etc. is redundant and should
not be added. E.g. by itself says a list of examples will
not be exhaustive.
Source: Get It Write
Online
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