"interpolate"

[Chris Waigl]

On 3 Sep 2011, at 06:57, Ben Zimmer wrote:.
>
> Another possibility: error for postmodernist "interpellate",
> originating in the work of Althusser:

I find this suggestion convincing because my first thought when reading the original quote in this thread was "this is used like French _interpeller_". The word is not postmodernist in French (and I would hesitate labeling Althusser thus) and includes mundane use such as an officer of the law stopping and interviewing a suspect. (According to Wikipedia, this sense exists in English as well http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpellation).

Chris Waigl

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