"due"
Garson O'Toole
adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Fri Jun 24 21:55:23 UTC 2011
Jonathan Lighter wrote:
[ Topic: the word due]
> Also apparently unnoticed is
>
> "And when are you due?"
>
> I.e., specif., "expected to give birth."
Wordnik shows that the American Heritage Dictionary has the sense of
"due" (adjective) that is associated with pregnancy.
due
Adjective (22)
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
6. Expected to give birth.
http://www.wordnik.com/words/due
OED has "reckoned upon as arriving" but none of the examples involve pregnancy.
10. Under engagement or contract to be ready, be present, or arrive
(at a defined time); reckoned upon as arriving; as the train is
already due = ought, according to the time-tables, to be already here
(or at such a place).
a1872 B. Harte Lost Galleon i, Due she was, and over due - Galleon,
merchandise, and crew.
1897 N.E.D. at Due, Mod. The train is due in London at 5 a.m. He is
due at his office next Monday. I must go; I am due at Mr. B.'s at
seven o'clock.
There is also the common phrase "due date" associated with pregnancy.
One Look and a Google search show that some references connect "due
date" with pregnancy but apparently OED does not (or I missed it).
Macmillan
the date on which something is planned or expected to happen, for
example when money must be paid or when a pregnant woman expects to
have her baby
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/due-date
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
the date on which something is supposed to happen:
[British English] Fewer than five percent of women have their babies
on their due date.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/due-date
Wiktionary
The date on which a pregnant woman is expected to give birth.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/due_date
Wordnik
[Includes the Wikitionary entry]
http://m.wordnik.com/words/due%20date
OED has the phrase "due date" under "due" but it seems to only be
associated with the payment of a bill.
due, adj. and adv.
11. Phrases and Comb., as due-bill n. U.S. (see quot. a1864). due
date n. the date on which a bill falls due and is payable.â due day n.
Obs. the day on which any payment falls due.
------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
More information about the Ads-l
mailing list