"old soul"

[James Harbeck]

On 2012-09-26, at 12:16 PM, Martin Kaminer wrote:

> I was always under the impression that 'Old Soul' connoted wisdom derived
> from previous incarnations (an odder idea I suppose in the west than in the
> east) and wasn't merely predicated on disparity between chronological age &
> level of wisdom.

That's always been how I've taken it, too. That's how it was explained to me the first time I heard it. I guess the usage is broadening. But, ah, how does either sense account for Old King Cole?

James Harbeck.

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