irregardless, still earlier yet

[Geoffrey Nunberg]

And now Larry reminds me that Ben reminded him that Motivated Grammar
had some of these last year, and that Richard Hershberger has taken it
back to 1795. Which leads to the question, why did it wait to become
an Issue -- "that most monstrous of non-words," as Life put it --
until the early 20th century?

Geoff


> On further investigation, Google Books turns up a flurry of cites
> from the 1870's. Betcha Jesse is already on to this. But given the
> amount of attention the word has gotten, it's curious the Wentworth
> cite hasn't been antedated already.
>
> God's laws are above human laws or wisdom, and as the spire built
> irregardless of line and plumb cannot stand long. 1875
>
> In the Prussian service all hygienic responsibility ended when a
> warm hospital building was secured, irregardless of bad air. 1876
>
> B. Goese, Esq., of London, who gave indiscriminately to every object
> irregardless of its worthiness amd could not bear to destroy
> anything. 1873
>
> GN
>
>> From Google Books:
>>
>> "As far as my knowledge extends among the intelligent colored
>> people they do not desire their children and the white children to
>> go to school togehter. They want schools and are willing for the
>> whites to have schools, and the democratic party is in favor of
>> educating the children irregardless of race, color, or previous
>> condition." Testimony of J. G. Taylor, resident of Onachita Parish,
>> La., Dec. 18, 1876, in Report of the Sub-Committee of the Committee
>> on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate, Vol. 1,
>> 187, p. 476. The speaker repeats the word in the following
>> paragraph so this is likely not a typo.
>>
>> The OED's first cite is from Wentworth's 1912 American Dialect
>> Dictionary, which puts the word in western Indiana; this quote
>> suggests an earlier Southern origin.
>>
>> Geoff Nunberg
>
>

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