pend, v.

[Laurence Horn]

On Nov 9, 2011, at 1:29 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:

> Did the headline really use alumnus' and not alumnus's?
> DanG
>
It wasn't the headline but the lead sentence.  And yes, in fact I was going to [sic] the "alumnus'" but figured that would distract from the focus of my query.  I'm sure Buckley would be rolling over in his grave at that, except for the fact that his ghost no doubt attributes such solecisms to liberalism and the loss of God on campus.

LH
>
> On Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 11:33 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      pend, v.
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Headline in today's Yale Daily News re "a course on the conservative =
>> alumnus' legacy" supported by the student-run William F. Buckley, Jr. =
>> Program:
>>
>> Buckley course pends approval
>>
>> The meaning is basically 'awaits', as sort of made clear from the =
>> post-jump headline on the article, "Course requires approval".=20
>>
>> The most relevant OED entry is PEND v., 5
>>
>> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>> Etymology:  Back-formation < pending adj.
>> Chiefly Business.
>> trans. To treat as pending; to postpone deciding on or attending to; =
>> to defer.
>>
>> 1953    P. Frankau Winged Horse iii. i. 178   Why didn't you ask J.G. to =
>> pend it till New Year?
>> 1970    New Scientist 16 July 134   It has done this by =91pending=92 =
>> the settlement of nine patent applications.
>> 2003    Westchester County (N.Y.) Business Jrnl. (Nexis) 17 Mar. 15   At =
>> times, claims are pended because of coordination of benefits or other =
>> issues, and they may be delayed somewhat.
>>
>> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>> But none of these definitions or cites quite fit, although the 1970 cite =
>> comes close.  I certainly couldn't report that a course pends approval, =
>> but YMMV (especially if you're composing a headline).
>>
>> LH=
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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