"Prophesize" Not in the Dictionaries

[Barnhart]

Dear Fred,

Thanks for the 1913 quote.  My entry for prophesize in the Dictionary
Companion was constructed before I used NewspaperArchive.com:

The Barnhart Dictionary Companion (Vol. 13.3, 2001, p p 285-6)  [N.B. the
fist note at the end of the entry]
prophecize, v. {w} A variant form of prophesy (BDE: about 1350). Standard
(used in informal contexts dealing especially with communication; common)
People in the Bible believed the Earth was flat because they didn't know
any better. And so it has always been with the false prophets: They
prophecize many impossible things because they don't know any better.
Science has always brought more knowledge and wisdom to the human race,
conquered many diseases and has kept whole civilizations from going the
way of the dinosaur. William Haffner (Twin Falls, Idaho) in a letter to
the editor in The Idaho Statesman [Boise] (Nexis), April 13, 2000, p 8b
If one looks up "forecast" in the dictionary, forecasting is defined as
the attempt to predict, foresee, prophecize, plan, or otherwise develop
outlooks for future events. The innate need to see into the future has
been recognized by political and business figures throughout history. Mark
J. Lawless, "Forecasting in the 1990s:' Journal of Business Forecasting
Methods & Systems (Nexis), Fall 1997, p 9-12
This was no ordinary deck. It was an exquisite multilevel collage of wood,
brick and summer dreams. Though the magazine itself reflected simpler
times and failed to prophecize modern deckmania by announcing that "It's
obviously more complicated than anything anybody will actually construct
out back," it was definitely what I wanted when I entered the universe of
property ownership. Diane C. Arkins, "Patio Passe? Try Building Your Own
Dream Deck," Chicago Sun-Times (Nexis), March 10,1995, p 25
RIVERA: Yes, Elizabeth? Well, Elizabeth, let me just show the people the
books that you've written. I didn't-OK, Elizabeth Baron has writ- ten,
"Prophets or-"Prophets or Profits"-you know, prophets that prophecize;
profit, make money. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Psychics, But
Were Afraid to Ask," and "The Art of Silence: Meditating the Western Way."
Geraldo Rivera, "There's A Ghost In My House: Driving Out The Demons,"
Geraldo Show (Nexis), June 24, 1994
"1 just do not believe that we can serve the needs of justice in this
coun- try with the mounting amount of litigation taking place," he said.
"Reagan justices," Senator Cranston prophecized, "would have an extreme
right-wing ideological bent that would influence their thinking." His
comment was similar to the one he made in 1971 when he opposed the
confirma- tion of William H. Rehnquist as a justice. David A. Kaplan, "The
Dropouts' Views; What Might Have Been," The National Law Journal (Nexis),
March 19, 1984, p 36
1984 (but presumed to be earlier). Composite (suffixation): formed from
prophec(y) (BDE: before 1200) + -ize (OED: 1593), as in genericize (DC
12.4: 1985).
 There is an entry in OED (1815) for phrophecize; Murray labeled this
"nonce."
Lord Kinnaird whispering, gesticulating, and prophecising. Countess
Harriet Granville, Letters 1810-1845, vol. 1, p 87



American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on Saturday, March 26,
2005 at 10:04 AM -0500 wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>Subject:      "Prophesize" Not in the Dictionaries
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Despite having over 11,000 Google hits and being used  prominently in Bob
>Dylan's landmark 1964 song "The Times They Are A-Changin'," the word
>_prophesize_ is still not in OED or Merriam-Webster.
>
>Newspaperarchive has occurrences back to 1913.  ProQuest Historical
>Newspapers is down right now, so I can't check that.
>
>Fred Shapiro
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
>Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
>  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
>Yale Law School                             forthcoming
>e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------