"contemptuous" = "contemptible"

[Jonathan Lighter]

On the other hand, OED has two exx. (1804, 1831) of "conversant" for "conversable," though it is marked "rare."

  JL

sagehen <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: sagehen
Subject: Re: "contemptuous" = "contemptible"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>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!
>
> These words are spoken by a crazed killer in Matthew Sweeney's poem,
>"Naked." I see no indication in the poem that the victim is literally
>"contemptuous."
>
> Those requiring more evidence may Google up "contemptuous little" and
>similar phrases and decide for themselves how to interpret them. Many are
>indeterminate, of course.
>
> 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.
>
> JL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I ran across "conversant" where "conversible" ought to have been used, but
this was in a book so ineptly written & with so many similar bad choices
that it almost went unnoticed. I don't suppose it is as common as
"contemptuous" for "contemptible."
AM




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
W stands for >:< War ____Waste___Wiretaps____Witchhunts >:<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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



---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail.

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