"electric" = electric power

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Sep 15, 2005, at 6:41 AM, dInIs wrote:

> DARE, however, finds it pretty widespread, with perhaps greater
> concentrations in South Midland/Appalachia. It was common among
> working class speakers where I grew up (S. IL and IN (Louisville
> area).
>
>> OED somehow misses this, though it's extremely common in the N. Y.
>> metro area. My grandfather (b. 1884) used it all the time.
>>
>> 2005 Brian Kilmeade (from L.I.) on _Fox & Friends_ (Fox News
>> Channel) (Sept. 15) : " A hundred thousand people without electric."

... and common among working class speakers where i grew up
(southeastern pennsylvania).  it's what my parents, aunts and uncles,
cousins, etc. used, and what i used.  it used to annoy my partner,
who labeled it a "hick" usage.  but then he grew up mostly in central
ohio, and probably identified the usage as characteristic of southern
ohio (i.e., appalachian).

it's a natural development, as i tirelessly explained to him, once
you have expressions like "electric power" 'electrical power', "the
electric company" 'the electric power company, the electricity
company', etc.  yes, i know, "electric" starts out as an adjective --
but a nonpredicating adjective (of the sort studied in detail by Judy
Levi thirty years ago), with nominal semantics.   "electric" is then
open for reanalysis *as* a noun, like many other nouns in -ic that
started out as adjectives only: elastic, plastic, spastic, comic,
tonic,...

arnold