Antedating of "Nihilist"

[Dan Goncharoff]

Nihilist could mean one who does not believe in a religious authority.

I doubt, in context, it means one who does not believe in any absolute
moral principles, but a more extensive reading of the source material might
prove it one way or the other.

DanG


On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 12:08 AM, Geoffrey Nunberg <
nunberg at ischool.berkeley.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Geoffrey Nunberg <nunberg at ISCHOOL.BERKELEY.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Nihilist"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But what could 'nihilist' mean here? Is there any reason to suppose a =
> causal connection between this and the later senses of the word, or is =
> it just an antedate of the form?
>
> Geoff
>
> > From: "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject: Antedating of "Nihilist"
> > Date: September 30, 2013 7:26:38 PM PDT
> >=20
> >=20
> > nihilist (OED3 1854)
> >=20
> > 1823 _Eclectic Review_ Nov. 410 (ProQuest)  No common object united =
> the immigrants, and no common character could be traced through the =
> mass.  Of the number who finally filled up its extent, were Calvinistic, =
> Arminian, Sabbatarian, and Separate Baptists, constituting, together, =
> the largest class of inhabitants; Presbyterians, Episcopalians, =
> Moravians, Quakers, and Jews.  Of most of these classes, a considerable =
> number are Nihilists.
> >=20
> > Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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