[ADS-L] "anniversary": losing the 'year' connection

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

lexicographers take note!

it turns out to be something of a chore to search through the AA
material; there's so *much* of it.  so i'm leaving this to the
professionals.

On Sep 17, 2006, at 2:06 AM, Ron Butters wrote:

> I suspect that, if you look in the available literature for Alcoholics
> Anonymous and other 12-step groups, you will find that this usage
> goes back to at
> least the 1070s in the sense 'days/months/years since one's last
> drink/cocaine
> use/etc." So one will say, "30-day anniversary," "3-months
> anniversary," etc.
> See online archives of the journal THE GRAPEVINE. I haven't checked
> this
> myself, but I have heard this usage. It is not a romantic context.
>
> In a message dated 9/16/06 1:44:07 PM, zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU
> writes:
>
>
>> anyone looked at this?  it's not in the OED of 1989 (though it might
>> be on the agenda for revision).  ah, now i see that it's in NOAD2,
>> though restricted to the romantic context:
>>
>> _informal_ the date on which a romance began in a previous month or
>> week.
>>
>> note that this usage has given rise to a kind of retronym, "five-year
>> anniversary" for "fifth anniversary", etc.
>>
>> please send replies to dan puckett (address below) as well as to the
>> list.
>>
>>
>
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>

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