prophesai for prophecy

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Oct 22, 2007, at 7:43 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:

> At 6:38 AM -0700 10/22/07, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>
>> ...  BTW, Cate is about to play the role of Bob Dylan in an
>> upcoming biopic.
>>
>>   JL
>
> ...which actually brings up one sorta counterexample to the first
> observation:  in "The Times They Are a-Changing", Dylan sings
>
> Come writers and critics
> Who prophesize with your pen
>
> But this is only a sorta counterexample, because it arguably involves
> not the verb "prophesy" but a different (albeit eggcornishly formed)
> verb.-

indeed, and separately listed in the OED's draft revision of june
2007, with cites back to 1816.

i don't see an eggcorn here, only an alternative verb for this
meaning, one formed more or less regularly from the noun
"prophecy" (though i don't know why it's not spelled "prophecize").
the verb "prophesy" is much older, and not regularly formed.

arnold

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