"contemptuous" = "contemptible"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Sep 3, 2006, at 9:49 AM, Jon Lighter wrote:

> OED has this from 1549 to 1796, but marks it as "_Obs_."  Would
> that it were true:
>
>   2005 _New Yorker_ (Aug. 8) 65: You contemptuous pup!
>
>   ...Am sure I've encountered this usage a number of times over the
> years, but am not sure that I've ever seen a warning against it.
> AHD online, s.v. contemptuous, offers none.

it's in both MWDEU and Garner (but not Brians).  MWDEU says that in
the 16th-18 centuries, the words were used interchangeably, but
people had begun to complain about this usage in 1770 and have been
warning about it ever since.  MWDEU tells you to keep them distinct.

arnold

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