bath vs. bathe

[Mark A Mandel]

On Thu, 22 Aug 2002, yvonne frasure wrote:

#'I need to bath' is very common in the southeastern Kentucky region,
#as well as in West Virginia.  Here is a consideration...."I need to
#take a bath" ......Where will you be taking it too?  Take:  To lay
#hold of;capture; catch.  2) To get possession of; seize 3) to obtain
#by purchase 4)assume; appose upon oneself.........etc..etc.  Why not
#say I need to seize a bath?  possess a bath?

Because we don't say "seize a breath", "seize a walk", "seize a nap", or
"seize a coffee break". "Take" is the verb that we use for these nouns
referring to brief activities.

-- Mark A. Mandel