Antedating of "Sorority"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Great citations for sorority! Below is an instance that may be
transitional between OED senses 1 and 2 or may be example of sense 2.
The phrasing is odd. The following excerpts are from an article in the
student periodical of  Northwestern University about newly arrived
Greek letter societies for woman.

Cite: 1882 March 23, Northwestern, The Latest Arrivals, Quote Page 62,
Column 1 and 2, Evanston, Illinois. (GenealogyBank)

[Begin excerpt]
THIS school year will be memorable in the History of Woman's College
because of the advent of three ladies' Greek letter societies. When
Alpha Phi came it was greeted with surprise, creating quite a ripple
among all classes.
[End excerpt]

Criticisms are presented in the article. Some say there will be feuds
between the organizations.

[Begin excerpt]
"What warfare, bloodshed, and ruffled tempers! I tell you it will be dreadful."

Our editor, to whom these remarks were addressed, froze out completely
the would-be prophet with such a look as will not be soon forgotten,
No sir, no such thing will ever take place at the Woman's College. On
the contrary, sorority will endeavor to improve its own members, and
all will find that nothing more fortunate could have taken place than
when Alpha Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Gamma came to Evanston.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Sorority"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thank you, Fred, but it shouldn't last long. The sorority was already a
> decade old by then, and there should be written proof up at Syracuse
> University (or Michigan, which had a branch a few years later.)
>
> DanG
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 1:34 PM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Sorority"
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Very nice antedating, Dan!
>>
>> Fred Shapiro
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Dan
>> Goncharoff [thegonch at GMAIL.COM]
>> Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 5:38 PM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Sorority"
>>
>> The book "American College Fraternities",  published in 1883, written by
>> William Raimond Baird, includes a reference to "Sorority" on p188.
>> Available in GB.
>>
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=9IISAAAAYAAJ&dq=Gamma%20Phi%20Beta%201883&pg=PA188#v=onepage&q=Gamma%20Phi%20Beta%201883&f=false
>>
>>
>> DanG
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Feb 3, 2013 at 10:02 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> > -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>> > Subject:      Antedating of "Sorority"
>> >
>> >
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > sorority (OED, 2., 1900)
>> >
>> > 1891 _Chicago Daily Tribune_ 21 Feb. 2 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
>> >  Th=
>> > e first one of these pleasant parties was given last evening by the Kappa
>> > K=
>> > appa Gamma sorority and was attended by about 100 members and guests.
>> >
>> > Fred Shapiro
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org